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CIVICS 


FOR 


Young Americans 

OR 

FIRST LESSONS IN GOVERNMENT. 


REVISED AND ENLARGED, WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING EX¬ 
PLANATIONS OF STATE, COUNTY, TOWN AND 
CITY GOVERNMENT. 


BY 

WM. M. GIFFIN, A.M., Pd.D. 

AND 

HARRIS G. PRO VINES, Ph.B. 


Fourth Edition, Revised. 



NEW YORK: 

PARKER P. SIMMONS, 

SUCCESSOR TO 

A. LOVELL & CO. 

1905. 





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CoPYRiGHT, 1888 , 1892 , by 
WM. M. GIFFIN. 


Copyright, 1904 , by 

WM. M. GIFFIN AND HARRIS G. PRO VINES. 


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TO 

and his nephews ana nieces tnrou^nout the Unions 
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PEEFACK 


In preparing this book the author has had primarily 
before him the fact that just such a book was wanted 
to throw light upon a common subject not generally or 
sufficiently treated in school courses of instruction. Be¬ 
sides, there has been a paramount desire to present the 
subject in a form so simple and entertaining that the 
young reader may readily understand, and through this 
understanding, be led to further thought. A basis of 
interesting knowledge being established, further thought 
cannot fail to inculcate a love of our country and its laws. 

The subject of Civil Government involves much that 
requires for its comprehension mature and extended 
thought. In view of this fact the author has kept in 
mind the capabilities of young intellects, and has endeav¬ 
ored to treat that subject so simply, in both the choice 
i!>i words and the arrangement of thought, as to insure its 
easy comprehension by the youngest reader. Neverthe¬ 
less, it is hoped that it will prove interesting to older 
thinkers who may find time to read it. 


6 


PREFACE. 


As an especial feature of this little book, the need 
of government and law is made apparent in a narra¬ 
tive that is calculated to arrest attention and provoke 
thought. Following this tale suggesting the need of gov¬ 
ernment, the simple forms naturally arising in the framing 
of laws are presented and developed in a manner which 
will appeal naturally to a young reader’s reason. 

While no exhaustive or detailed explanation of for¬ 
eign governments has been given, comparative condi¬ 
tions have been stated and suggestive differences have 
been noted, and the reasons for certain laws have been 
told in a manner intended to show a relation between 
cause and effect. 

In the subsequent chapters, the Constitution of the 
United States has been presented with sufficient explana¬ 
tion, it is thought, to make the various clauses significant 
in meaning to the reader. 

In the Appendix will be found explanations of State, 
County, City, Town and Township governments. Also, 
chapters containing suggestive review questions, among 
which are many facts not found in the text. 


W. M. G. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTKlt PAGE 

I. A Story. 9 

II The Story Continued. 14 

III. Some Pacts from History. 18 

lY. The Kinds of Government. 22 

V. The Articles of Confederation. 29 

VI. The Constitution. 33 

YII. T!he House of Representatives. 36 

YIII. The Senate. 43 

IX. What Congress has Power to do. 63 

X. WRat Congress and the State cannot do. 69 

XI. The Executive Department. 75 

XII. The Judicial Department. 91 

XIII. Miscellaneous Provisions. 97 

XIY. The Amendments.104 

XY. Political Parties j United States Capitals.112 

XYI. Conclusion .118 

XYII. Introduction to Appendix .il22 

XYIII. Subdivisions.134 

XIX. County .125 

XX. Townships . 127 

XXL Townships, Continued.131 

XXII. Township and County.133 

XXIII. Towns and Cities. 135 

XXIY. State Government.136 

XXY. County Officers.IM 

XXYI. Officers of the Township.147 

XXYII. Officers of Town and City.149 

XXYIII. Conclusion ..152 































“ One lialf of tlie time whicli Is now almost wholly wasted in dis* 
trict schools, on English grammar attempted at too early an age, 
would be sufficient to teach our children to love the Republic and 
to become its loyal and life-long supporters.”— James A. Garfield. 


CIVICS FOE YOUNG AMEEICANS. 


CHAPTER I. 

A STORY. 

We once read a story of a young man by the name of 
Philip Brusque. It was written by Peter Parley. We 
wish that every one of our young American friends could 
read the story for himself. In this chapter we shall give 
a brief outline of a part of it, which will be the next 
best thing to the story itself. 

Young Brusque was a Frenchman, who lived in France 
about the year 1789, or at the time of the French Revolu¬ 
tion. If our young friends desire to have a very good 
idea of this Revolution, they should read the ^^Tale of 
Two Cities ’’ by Charles Dickens. 

At the time of the Revolution, France was a monarchy. 
Those of our readers who have studied geography will 
understand what kind of a government this is. 

In 1789 the common people of France determined to 
overthrow the government. Thousands of persons were 


10 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


executed by them. One of the most active of the people 
was young Brusque, who, with many others, thought that 
if the government could only be overthrown, he would be 
very happy. He thought that then he could do as he liked, 
without being restrained by any law, except the moral 
sense of man. He thought that laws were uhfair, and 
that no man should be subject to them. In fact, Philip 
took such an active part that he soon found it unsafe for 
him to stay in Paris, and hence, with many others, he set 
sail for a foreign land. But alas! when but a few days 
out, a great storm arose and all on board were drowned, 
save Philip, who was washed ashore on a lone island, and 
what seemed to please him most of all was, that the 
island was without a single human inhabitant except 
himself. 

Peter Parley says, that when Philip found himself 
alone on the island, he was delighted, and exclaimed: 

Now I shall be happy. Here I can enjoy perfect lib¬ 
erty. Here is no prison like the Bastile; here is no king 
to make slaves of his fellow-men; here is no Kobes- 
pierre to plot the murder of his fellow-citizens. 0 Lib¬ 
erty, how have I worshipped thee! and here on this 
lone island I have found thee. Here I can labor or rest, 
eat or drink, wake or sleep, as I please. Here is no one 
to control my actions or my thoughts. In my native 
country all the land belongs to a few persons; but here I 
can take as much land as I please. I can freely pick the 


A STORY. 


11 


fruit from the trees, according to my choice or my wants. 
How different is my situation from what it was in France! 
There, everything belongs to somebody, and I was re¬ 
strained from taking anything, unless I paid for it. Here, 
all is free, all is mine. Here, I can enjoy perfect liberty. 
In France, I was under the check and control of a thou¬ 
sand laws; here, there is no law but my own will. Here, 
I have indeed found perfect freedom.” 

Philip, you she, was quite happy. Thus he continued for 
about a year, when he began to feel very lonely. How he 
longed to see a human being once more ! Each day found 
him on the top of a high hill looking wishfully out at sea 
for a sail. One day while he was thus watching,” says 
Peter Parley, he began to talk as follows: ^ Liberty is, 
indeed, a dear and beautiful thing; but still I want some¬ 
thing beside liberty. I want to hear a human voice. I 
want to look into a human face. I want some one to 
speak to. I feel as if my very heart would wither for the 
want of a friend. I feel a thirst within, and I have no 
means of satisfying it. I feel within a voice speaking, 
and there is no answer. This beautiful island is becoming 
a desert to me, without even an echo. 0 dear France! 
0 dear, dear home! How gladly would I give up this 
hollow and useless liberty for the pleasure of friendship 
and society! I would be willing to be restrained by the 
thousand meshes of the law, if I might once more enjoy 
the pleasure of living in the midst of my fellow-men.’ ” 


12 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Ah, my young friends, what a change had come over 
Philip in one short year! Short to us, but alas! how long, 
how very long, it had been to him. One day, on going to 
the top of the hill, Philip thought he saw something mov¬ 
ing. It was about a mile from where he was standing, 
and looking sharply, he found that it was a human being. 
0, how his heart jumped for joy! He set off like a wild 
deer toward the stranger. When near enough, he saw it 
was a man. He ran right up to him with open arms. 
The man's name was Jacques Piquet. He was a fisherman 
from Mauritius. He had been out fishing, and the wind 
had blown him so far out to sea, that he could not get 
back to land. When he was about to give up all hopes, 
his small boat was dashed to pieces, and Jacques, being a 
good swimmer, saved his life by swimming to the island, 
which happened to be the one on which Philip was living. 

How happy Philip was! He put his arms around the 
fisherman and kissed him again and again. He took the 
stranger and led him to his cave. Next he gathered some 
fresh pineapples and other fruit, and when he saw the 
fisherman eating them he clapped his hands in joy. 
Philip also ran to get Jacques some fresh water to drink. 
This was all very strange for Philip to do, as he was a 
proud fellow, and had he been compelled to serve the 
fisherman he would have hated and resisted the work; 
but because he was doing it of his own free will and 
accord he found pleasure in it. Philip continued to wait 


A STORY. 


13 


on the fisherman for some little time. At last, however, 
there came a new order of things, and the fisherman began 
to order Philip to do this and that for him. This made 
Brusque very angry, and he told the fisherman he might 
wait on himself. 

This, in turn, made Jacques angry, and soon from words 
they came to blows. Brusque, being the stronger of the 
two, dealt Jacques a blow on the head which felled him to 
the ground, where he lay without motion, seeming actu¬ 
ally to be dead. 


CHAPTER n. 


THE STORY CONTINUED. 

No sooner did Philip see the condition of the fisherman, 
than he thought to himself: What a strange creature I 
am! A few weeks since I was mad with joy at the arri¬ 
val of this man; soon he became the tyrant of my life. I 
then wished him dead. I forgot that he had rights as 
well as myself. In taking his life I did a great wrong to 
justice, to liberty, and to myself.” 

While Brusque was thinking these thoughts, the fisher¬ 
man moved and showed signs of returning life. Philip 
was again full of joy, and, fetching some water, sprinkled 
it over the man’s face. He soon recovered, and Philip 
led him to the cave, where, lying down, he went to 
sleep. Again Philip fell to thinking. 

Jacques is alive again, and I am relieved of a load. 
When I was alone I was perfectly free, but I soon found 
that freedom without society was a sad condition of 
things. I therefore yearned for society, and I had it. 
But it soon became a torment to me. What, then, is the 
difficulty? I believe it is the want of some rules, by 
which we may regulate our conduct. Though there are 


THE STORY CONTINUED. 


16 


but two of us, still we find it necessary to enter into a 
compact. We must form a government; we must submit 
to laws, rules, and regulations. We must each submit to 
the abridgment of some portion of our liberty — some por¬ 
tion of our privileges — in order to secure the rest.” 

Philip now returned to the cave, where he found the 
fisherman much better. Philip spoke to him of the neces¬ 
sity of laying down certain rules, by which the essential 
rights of each should be preserved and a state of harmony 
insured. To this Jacques agreed, and the following code 
of laws being drawn np by Philip, they were passed unan¬ 
imously : — 

Be it ordained by Philip Brusque, late of Prance, and 
Jacques Piquet, of Mauritius, to insure harmony, establish 
justice, and promote the good of all parties: — 

1. This island shall be called Fredonia. 

2. Liberty being a great good in itself, and the right 
of every human being, it shall only be abridged so far as 
the good of society may require. But as all laws restrain 
liberty, we, the people of Fredonia, submit to the follow¬ 
ing: — 

3. The cave, called the Castaway’s Home, lately 
occupied by Philip Brusque, shall be alternately occupied 
for a day and night by said Philip Brusque and Jacques 
Piquet, the former beginning this day, and the latter 
taking it the next day, and so forth. 


16 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


4. Each person shall have a right to build himself 
a house, and sliall have exclusive possession of the same. 

^^5. If two persons wish, the same fruit at the same 
time, they shall draw lots for the first choice, it they cam 
not agree otherwise as to the division. 

'^6. If any difference arises between the two parties, 
Philip Brusque and Jacques Piquet, they shall decide such 
questions by lot. 

7. This code of laws shall be changed, or modified, 
or added to, only by the consent of the parties, Philip 
Brusque and Jacques Piquet. 

All which IS done this 27th day of June, A.d. 18—.” 

This was neatly cut with a penknife on a board which 
had come ashore from the wreck of Philip’s vessel, and it 
became the statute law of the island of Fredonia. 

From this story of Philip we learn that absolute liberty 
cannot be enjoyed except by an individual in solitude, 
where he has no intercourse with his fellow-men. From 
it we also learn that even supposing there are but two 
persons living together, some rules, or laws, by which 
they may regulate their conduct, become necessary. 
The truth is, my young friends, people cannot live 
together in society without government. As shown to us 
in this story by Peter Parley, even two persons on an 
island find that, to prevent quarrelling, they must define 
their mutual rights and privileges; or, in short, they must 



THE STORY CONTINUED. 17 

e7iact laws, and, as a matter of course, these laws are 
restraints upon natural or absolute liberty. 

Thus it is that we are to-day living in a country gov¬ 
erned by laws. And the best of all is, that our laws, like 
those of Philip and the fisherman, are our own; that is, 
they are made by us, and the purpose of this little book 
is to show you why in this respect, our country is one of 
the grandest, if not the very best, in the world. 

Many years ago our forefathers lived in a country very 
much like the one from which Philip came. It differed 
in some things. We shall have more to say of this, how¬ 
ever, in another chapter. 


CHAPTER III. 


SOME FACTS FROM HISTORY. 

You have read the history of our country from its dis^ 
covery by Columbus to the present time. Is it not sur¬ 
prising how much the lives of our forefathers resembled 
that of Philip Brusque ? They lived in England, under 
rulers who were haughty and arbitrary men, just as 
Philip had in France. 

They also, like Philip, longed for liberty and a better 
home; though, unlike Philip, they were true to their 
country, and instead of trying to overthrow the govern¬ 
ment, they simply asked to be allowed to go from it and 
live by themselves. This they did, and, as you know, 
they came to the New World. How they suffered! 

You remember the Starving Time in Virginia, the In¬ 
dian War, and Bacon’s Rebellion. You remember King 
Philip’s War in Massachusetts, and Clayborn’s Rebellion 
in Maryland. 

You remember the Pequod War in Connecticut, the 
trouble with the Spaniards in Georgia, and the wars of 
King William, Queen Anne, and King George ; and finally, 
the greatest of them all, the French and Indian War. 


SOME FACTS FROM HISTORY. 


19 


When the French and Indian War began, none were as 
ready to help the English king as those who were living 
in the New World, many of whom had left England be¬ 
cause they had been so badly treated there. All through 
the nine long years of the war they fought bravely and 
well. At the close of the war, although England reaped 
all the glory, and the colonies had borne the brunt of the 
conflict, none were more ready and willing than they to 
help pay the debts which the war had contracted.” 

How were the colonies repaid for all this loyalty? 
You remember that before the French and Indian War 
some of the colonies had been assailed in their personal 
liberty and political rights. Dishonest governors had 
been sent over here by the king and had plundered them, 
while tyrannical governors had, time after time, grossly 
abused and oppressed them. 

All this might have been forgotten after the French 
and Indian War, had it not been for the money-loving 
king, who acted as if the colonies existed only for the pur¬ 
pose of helping him and the people in England to make 
money. When, however, the king saw how nicely the 
colonies were prospering, he, instead of giving them a 
helping hand, did everything he could to injure them. 

You remember the Navigation Act, the Acts of 
Trade, the Restricting Laws, the Writs of Assistance, 
the Stamp Act, the Mutiny Act, the Boston Massacre, and 


20 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


the Tax on Tea. These alone were enough to make the 
colonies feel anything but friendly toward England. 

But King George III. was guilty of many more un¬ 
just acts. For example, he would not allow a man to 
cut down a tree on his own land without first asking 
permission. He would appoint a man a judge, and then, 
if he did not decide all cases in favor of the king, the 
king would not pay him his salary. He appointed a 
multitude of officers who were not at all necessary, and 
then obliged the colonies to pay them large salaries. He 
kept a large number of soldiers here in times of peace 
when there was no good reason for it. The soldiers had 
to be paid by the colonies. These soldiers oftentimes 
were guilty of murders for which they went unpunished. 
Innocent men were arrested for pretended offences, be¬ 
cause they stood in the king’s way, and he wanted to 
take them to England to be tried for the alleged offences. 
The king, in fact, plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, 
burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our peo¬ 
ple.” 

This was a very bad return for what the colonies had 
done for him. And, notwithstanding it all, the colonies 
were still loyal to him. They in fact, petitioned for re¬ 
dress in the most humble terms. The petitions were 
answered only by repeated injury. 

There was only one thing left to do, which was to 


SOME FACTS FROM HISTORY. 


21 


declare themselves free and independent of England and 
her king, and this was done on the fourth day of July, 
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six; but not till 
seven years after this did England acknowledge the inde¬ 
pendence of the coloniea 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE KINDS OF GOVERNMENT. 

As soon as our forefathers had declared themselves 
independent of Great Britain, they knew they must form 
a government; for, being wise men, they knew they could 
not long exist without a government of some kind. At 
that time, as well as at the present, there were three 
distinct kinds of government. These were monarchies, 
aristocracies, and republics. 

Let us now learn something of these different kinds 
of governments, that we may have a better idea of them. 
We are sure all of our readers will be glad they live in 
the United States when they know more of its govern¬ 
ment and the governments of some other countries of 
which we shall learn. 

A Monarchy is a government by a single person. 
This person has different titles in different countries. If 
the country is an empire, the ruler is called an Emperor, 
Czar, or Sultan. If it is a kingdom, he or she is called 
a King or Queen. If it is a principality, he is called a 
Prince. If it is a duchy, he is called a Duke. 


THE KINDS OF GOVEKNMENT. 


23 


There are two kinds of monarchies. They are abso¬ 
lute and limited. 

An Absolute Monarchy is one in which all the power 
is in the hands of one man. This is very good if that 
man is one to be trusted. But if he is not a good man, 
and hence cannot be trusted, then it is terrible. 

When reading history, we learn of many di:fferent 
absolute monarchies. One, for instance, is Russia, which 
is one of the most powerful monarchies in the world. 
One of the Russian emperors, or Czars, was named Ivan 
ly., who was the Czar of Russia for about fifty years. 
You will learn what kind of a man Ivan was from the 
following: — 

A number of noblemen were one day talking, when 
one of them said: The grand prince (meaning Ivan) 
decides all questions alone, shut up in his chamber.” 
Ivan, hearing he had said this, ordered that he be taken to 
prison, there to have his head cut off. Ivan had a very 
quick temper, and all of his subjects approached him in 
fear. One day he became angry at one of his courtiers, 
and without any pity, he ordered that the courtier be torn 
to death by savage dogs. But then he could do as he liked, 
for he was an absolute monarch, and hence went unpun¬ 
ished for his acts. Nor did he stop here. In fact, he did 
so many terrible deeds that he was called Ivan the Terri-' 
hie. He one time went to a city where there were many 
people who disliked his cruel ways, and who were not 


24 


CIVICS FOK YOUNG AMERICANS. 


afraid to say so, and had sixty thousand men, besides 
many women and children, killed. 

Just think, my young friends, of being obliged to live 
in a country that had a form of government which al¬ 
lowed such a wretch to be its ruler. 

When reading history we also learn of good monarchs 
who tried to do what was right; still they were all apt 
to look out for themselves rather than for others, which 
does not agree with Sir Walter Scott’s idea of a true man, 
for he says, The man whom I call deserving the name 
is one whose thoughts and exertions are for others rather 
than himself.” Another well-known writer has said: 

The absolute monarch is generally a tyrant. Men are 
too imperfect to be trusted with absolute power.” 

A Limited Monarchy is one in which the power of 
the monarch is limited by the constitution and the laws 
of the country, which say that the ruler must share his 
power with a class of nobles, or a body of men who are 
elected for that purpose. 

One of the most powerful limited monarchies is Eng¬ 
land. England at one time was an absolute monarchy, 
and we can form something of an idea of its early kings 
when we read of one of them, who was known as King 
John, who, it is said, threw into prison a wealthy Jew 
because he refused to give the king an enormous sum of 
money. While the Jew was in prison, the king ordered 
one of his teeth pulled out each day, until he paid 


THE KINDS OF GOVERNMENT. 


25 


the required amount of money. King John’s treat¬ 
ment of the poor old Jew, however, was one of the least 
of his wicked acts. When John became king, there was 
another who had the best claim to the throne. This was 
John’s pretty little nephew, Arthur; but John seized the 
treasure, and the little prince was locked up in a large 
castle. While the prince was here, the king sent two 
ruffians to burn the little fellow’s eyes out with red-hot 
irons. The warden of the castle, Hubert de Bourg, to his 
praise be it remembered, sent the savages away. This 
made the king very angry, and after this he sent another 
ruffian to kill the poor little prince. Hubert sent back 
word to the king that he would do it for him. John 
knew he would not do so, and had Arthur taken to an¬ 
other castle. One dark night the little prince was aroused 
from his sleep and told to follow his jailer down stairs. 
When at the foot of the stairs, he was drawn into a boat, 
where he saw his uncle. King John, and another man. 
The little fellow knelt to them and begged them not to 
murder him. To this they paid no attention, but stabbed 
him, and sunk his body in the river with heavy stones. 

England still has a ruler; but there are also two bodies 
of men, or two houses, as they are called, with which he 
shares his power. These houses are called the House of 
Lords and the House of Commons. 

Long after England claimed to have a limited mon¬ 
archy, however, the kings had, or at least assumed, great 


26 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


power. We read that during the reign of King Henry 
VIII. (Bluff King Hal) many people were executed be¬ 
cause they would not bow to the king’s will. It was 
during his reign that an old man, Wolsey by name, who 
had been a lifelong friend of Henry VIII., received a 
death sentence because he would not do a dishonest act 
for the king. It is said his last words were to one Crom¬ 
well, and were as follows: Had I but served God as 
diligently as I have served the king, he would not have 
given me over in my gray hairs. Howbeit, this is my 
just reward for my pains and diligence, not regarding my 
service to God, but only my duty to my prince.” He was 
not executed, as he died broken-hearted on his way to 
prison. Do you not think Wolsey was treated by Henry 
VIII. very much as our forefathers were treated by George 
III. ? Henry VIII. had six wives. One of them he be¬ 
came tired of, and, on some slight excuse, he had her 
executed, and the very next day he married another 
woman. Hence you see that the king of this limited 
monarchy was not much, if any, better than Ivan, the 
absolute monarch. 

After Henry VIII. came Edward VI., and after him 
came Queen Mary. Mary tried to change many of the 
laws which King Henry VIII. had made, and in trying 
to force them upon the people she had three hundred 
persons burned to death, because they did not like her 
new laws. 


THE KINDS OF GOVERNMENT. 


2T 


After Mary came Elizabeth. During the reign of 
Good Queen Bess/’ as she was sometimes called, Eng¬ 
land improved very much, for Elizabeth was a queen of 
great power and merit. She re-organized a church, and 
said there must be no other kind; and if any one was 
found attending any other church, he was executed. So 
you see, though she was called a good queen, she had 
some very bad faults. If you would like to learn more 
of the kings and queens of England, read Charles 
Dickens’ Child’s History of England.” Some of them 
have been noble men and women, one of the best being 
Queen Victoria, who was much beloved at home and 
abroad. 

An Aristocracy is a government in which the power 
is placed in the hands of the nobles or aristocrats. All 
historians agree that an aristocracy is the poorest form of 
government a country can have. 

A Republic is that form of government in which the 
supreme power is vested in the people, or delegated to 
representatives elected by the people. 

A republic binds men together by strong ties of 
fellowship, as in a bond of affection and brotherly love. 
It is the grandest of all forms of government. 

Some three hundred years ago the colony of Plymouth 
was a republic, and at that time the people all met to 
make the laws. There were so few people then that they 
could do this. Now, however, there is no building, nor 


28 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


city for that matter, which is large enough to hold all the 
people; so the people send men to act for them, who are 
called representatives, because they represent the people. 
These representatives, as you know, meet in the city of 
Washington to make the laws. We will learn more of 
them. 


CHAPTER V. 


THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

On the same day (June 11, 1776) that the committee 
was appointed to prepare the Declaration of Independence, 
there was another committee appointed to prepare some 
rules or laws for the colonies which were about to become 
independent. This committee met and drew up a set of 
laws which they called Articles of Confederation and 
Perpetual Union between the Statesf meaning the thir¬ 
teen original states of our country of which you have 
learned in your histories. 

During the Revolution the Articles answered very well, 
as the attention of all the states was directed toward the 
defeat of the English soldiers. At the close of the war, 
however, it was found that the country had no real gov¬ 
ernment. As a well-known writer has said, There were 
thirteen separate and independent states, each free to do 
as it pleased. Each state claimed for itself the right to 
coin money, lay duties on foreign goods, to levy taxes, 
and to raise and equip its own army. There was a loose 
kind of union between them, which did not amount to a 
good general government, because it had few of the 


30 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AJVIERICANS. 


powers belonging to a government. Congress could not 
enforce tax laws, nor coin money, nor do anything except 
advise the states; and the states could take the advice 
or neglect it, just as they pleased. 

The weak states were afraid of the strong ones, and 
the strong ones were jealous of each other. Each state 
made laws for itself, and these laws sometimes stood in 
the way of trade between different parts of the country. 
The states were in a fair way to quarrel among them¬ 
selves, and even to get into wars with one another, which 
would have been worse for them than any foreign war 
could have been.’’ ^ In fact, the states were very much in 
the same condition as the seven sons of an old gentleman, 
who were always quarrelling. They left their studies 
and work to quarrel among themselves. Some bad men 
were looking forward to the death of the old gentleman, 
who was very wealthy, to cheat the sons out of their 
property by making them quarrel about it. The good old 
man one day called his sons around him. He laid before 
them seven sticks which were bound together. He said, 
I will pay one hundred dollars to the one who can break 
this bundle.” Each one strained every nerve to break 
it. After a long but vain trial they all said that it could 
not be done. And yet, my boys,” said the father, 
“nothing is easier to do.” He then untied the bundle 
and broke the sticks, one by one, with perfect ease. 

^ Barnes’ Primary History. 


THE ARTICLES OP CONFEDERATION. 


31 


Oh ! said his sons, it is easy enough to do it so; any¬ 
body could do it in that way/’ 

Their father replied: As it is with these sticks, so it 
is with you, my sons. So long as you hold fast together 
and aid each other, you will prosper, and none can injure 
you. But if the bond of union be broken, it will happen 
to you just as it has to these sticks which lie here broken 
on the ground.” 

Our forefathers, like the good old man in the story, 
saw that only in union could there be strength. The war 
had left a very large public debt to be paid, and there 
was no money with which to pay it. The trade of the 
country was broken up, and the people were very poor. 
Congress, as the head of the government was called, might 
make treaties with foreign nations, but it could not com¬ 
pel the states to abide by them; and, of course, foreign 
countries would not make treaties under such circum¬ 
stances. 

At this time Washington wrote, ^^The Confederation 
seems to me to be little more than a shadow without the 
substance.” At another time he said, ^^It is a subject 
of regret that so much blood and treasure have been lav¬ 
ished for no purpose; that so many sufferings have been 
encountered without compensation; and that so many 
sacrifices have been made in vain.” 

Many other prominent men were active in preparing 
the public mind for a change; among the most active 


32 


ClYICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


were James Madison, who was called the father of the 
Constitution,” and Alexander Hamilton. Finally their 
labor was rewarded, and the public was ready for a 
change. A convention was called, and the following 
gentle men, Messrs. Eandolph, Madison, Jones, Tucker, 
and Lewis, were appointed commissioners to meet other 
commissioners for the purpose of forming a new govern¬ 
ment. This meeting was the means of our having our 
present form of government, and it was by these com¬ 
missioners and the others who met with them that our 
present Constitution was written ; a Constitution about 
which James Wilson, who was one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, wrote the following: Re¬ 
garding it in every point of view with a candid and 
disinterested mind, I am bold to assert that it is the Best 
Form of Government which has ever been offered 
TO THE World.” 

Are you not proud, my young American friends, that 
it is your country and your government about which such 
good things can be written? We hope to show you, in 
the remaining chapters, how true Mr. Wilson’s words are. 


CHAPTER VI. 


THE CONSTITUTION. 

A Constitution is the highest law of a country. It is 
that which tells the form of the government, and also 
tells just what power each part of the government has. 
Hence it is important that every American should have 
a knowledge of our Constitution. 

The people who made our Constitution began it as 
follows: — 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote 
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution for the United States of America.'' 

This is called the Preamble to the Constitution, because 
it introduces or begins it, and tells its object. You will 
notice that this preamble is something like that written 
by Philip Brusque for himself and the fisherman. 

Our forefathers, at the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson, 


34 


CIYICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


very wisely divided the government into three depart¬ 
ments, called the Legislative, the Executive, and the 
Judicial. We shall hereafter see why it was best so to 
divide it. 

The Legislative is the department that makes the 
laws, and is called Congress. 

In the city of Washington, which is the capital of the 
United States, there is a very beautiful building, called 
the capitol, in which Congress holds its meetings. 

Congress is composed of two bodies of men, called 
houses. One of these houses is called the Senate, and the 
other is called the House of Representatives. 

The Judicial department interprets or tells the mean¬ 
ing of the laws, and then applies them. 

In an absolute monarchy the same person makes the 
laws, and also interprets them, or tells their meaning. If, 
then, the monarch makes a law, and afterwards has it 
brought before him in a way which he did not expect, he 
can say, Oh, it does not mean that, but means thus and 
so.” 

You can understand this better, perhaps, if I tell you 
a story. An Irishman once opened a barber shop, and 
hung up a sign which read: What do you think, Paddy 
Magee will shave you for nothing and give you a drink.” 
When Paddy had any customer he would tell him that 
the sign meant as follows: W-h-a-t I do you think 
Paddy Magee will shave you for nothing and give you a 


THE CONSTITUTIOIS’. 


35 


drink ? ’’ When read this way there was no doubt that 
Paddy expected full pay for his work. 

Paddy’s sign was like many of the laws made by an 
absolute monarch. It could be changed to suit the occa¬ 
sion. But when one department makes the laws, and 
another department interprets them, everything must be 
so plain as to have but one meaning. Hence you see 
what a good thing it is to have the two departments. The 
legislative department has to make the laws so plain that 
not only its members will know what they mean, but also 
that there will be no doubt in the minds of the members 
of the judicial department as to their meaning. Therefore 
all laws have to be made with great care. 

The Executive is the department that executes the 
laws. The President of the United States is the executive. 
We will learn more of his powers in another chapter. 


CHAPTER YU. 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

The Constitution says,— 

^^The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of 
the several states.” 

At the time the Constitution was written there were 
some of the members of the committee who wanted the 
representatives elected for five years. There were others 
who thought one year should be the time. All were 
anxious to do what was right; so, like sensible men, each 
gave up a little to the other and, therefore, to please both 
sides, it was fixed at two years. 

It was wise to make it two years, for now a represen¬ 
tative is not elected for so long a time as to make him 
careless and too independent, nor is he apt to abuse his 
power. If, at the end of two years, he has shown by his 
actions that he is not fit to represent the people, some one 
else can be elected to take his place. While, if he has 
been just the right man in the right place, the people can 


TFE TCDUSE OF REPKESENTATIYES. 37 

itvekct him for another term. You see a man has this 
re-election to look forward to, and, knowing that as a rule 
the men who work the hardest for the country’s good are 
the ones preferred for re-election, he will try to do his 
very best for the good of the country. 

In England they have what is called the House of 
Commons, which many people think is like our House of 
Representatives. President Lincoln is said to have asked 
the following question of some gentlemen: Gentlemen, 
if we were to call a sheep’s tail a leg, how many legs 
would the sheep then have ? ” ‘‘ Why,” said they, five 

legs, of course.” ^‘Not so, gentlemen,” answered Mr. 
Lincoln. ^^Why noti” asked they. “Because, gentle¬ 
men, calling a sheep’s tail a leg does not make it one!' 

And so, calling the House of Commons like our House 
of Representatives does not make It so. We will notice 
some things in which they differ. The members of the 
English House are elected for seven years, but they seldom 
serve that length of time, as you will learn in another 
chapter. 

There is no doubt, however, but that the House of 
Commons is a much more able body of men than tlie 
House of Lords, which goes to prove that the people can 
be trusted to select their law makers, if they are but given 
the opportunity to do so. This fact strengthens our faith 
in our own form of government, where all the law makers 


88 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


and other officers of the government are elected bj the 
people or their representatives. 

How independent the House, where every member 
can do as he thinks best, and, knowing that good laws 
will always please the best and largest number of men, 
he, as a rule, tries to do what is best for the country. 

The Constitution also says,— 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have 
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven 
years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, 
when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which 
he shall be chosen.’' 

Our forefathers very wisely thought that a man should 
be at least twenty-five years old before he could be elected 
to so important a trust. By the time a man is twenty- 
five years old he has formed his character and is old 
enough to have good judgment. 

In the House of Commons, however, many of the 
members are only twenty-one years old, — mere boys, — to 
make the laws for one of the largest countries in the 
world. 

It was a good idea to have it understood that a man 
when elected a representative must be an inhabitant of 
that state in which he shall be chosen. Who knows the 
wants of New Jersey as well as a man who lives in New 


THE HOUSE OF KEPKESENTATIVES. 


39 


Jersey? No one. And that is the reason the Constitu¬ 
tion says a representative must be a citizen of the state in 
which he is chosen. 

In England, a member of the House of Commons may 
be chosen from any part of Great Britain. That is, a 
man living in Edinburgh, Scotland, may be chosen to rep¬ 
resent Cambridge, England. Or a man of Oxford, Eng¬ 
land, may represent Dublin, Ireland. It is not reasona¬ 
ble to suppose that a man of Oxford can represent Dublin 
as well as a man right from Dublin. 

Sometimes it is said that by choosing a man from any 
part of the country, better and more able men will be 
chosen. This is not a good argument, for the reason that 
there never was, nor is it likely there ever will be, a state 
having people enough in it to make a state, that will 
not have more than enough men able in every way to 
represent it. Our forefathers had the good sense to see 
this truth. 

Some of the citizens of our country are what are called 
naturalized citizens. You know what an adopted child 
is. Well, a man who is a naturalized citizen is an adopted 
citizen, only it is the country that adopts him. Before he 
is adopted he has to promise that he will become a citizen 
of our country, fight for our laws in time of war, and 
do all other acts that a person born a citizen is required 
to do. When he has signed papers promising all this, he 
is made a citizen, entitled to all the rights and privileges 


40 


CIVICS FOE YOUNG AMERICANS. 


of those who are born citizens, except he cannot ever be 
elected either President or Vice-President of the country; 
and must have seven years’ residence after naturalization to 
be a Kepresentative, and nine years to be a Senator; pro¬ 
viding first, however, that before applying to be natural¬ 
ized he has lived in the country not less than five years. 
The law also provides that a declaration of intention to 
become a citizen must be made at least two years before 
naturalization; except in the case of those who have been 
honorably discharged from one year’s service in the army 
or navy of the United States. These need no declaration 
of intention and need not prove more than one year’s 
residence. 

In most countries they will not allow naturalized citi¬ 
zens to hold office so as to take part in the affairs of the 
government. Americans, however, are too liberal-minded 
to say that no one but American-born citizens shall hold 
office. Any thinking man (and they are the ones to be 
elected to an office) cannot live in a country twelve years 
and not know about its laws and its form of government. 
Another clause of the Constitution reads as follows : — 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any 
state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies.” 

This means that if a member of the House dies, or for 
any oth^r reason his seat becomes vacant, the governor of 


THE HOUSE OF EEPRESENTATIYES. 


41 


the state which he represents, calls an election for the 
purpose of filling his place. This, our forefathers thought 
the best thing to do, because the executive of a state, as 
the governor is called, will feel interested in having the 
state fully represented, and, therefore, will be very prompt 
to call an election. The Constitution also provides that 
each state shall have at least one representative, and can¬ 
not have more than one for every thirty thousand people. 
As our country increases in population, the ratio of repre¬ 
sentation changes. 

The Constitution provides that, — 

The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker 
and other officers, and shall have the sole power of 
impeachment.” 

The speaker is the one who presides over the House. 
You will understand what this means when we tell you 
he is like the president of a literary society. This makes 
the House independent. When the House of Commons 
elects a speaker, he cannot act until he has been approved 
of by the king. In this, you see, the House of Commons 
is not independent, but is really dependent upon the 
king’s will. 

Many people do not understand what is meant by 
impeaching an officer. It is simply to charge him with 
crime or with misbehavior in office. It is very much the 
same as an indictment by a grand jury. One man thinks 


42 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


another man guilty of violating the law. He appears 
before the grand jury. The grand jury hear his charge; 
and if they think the man is guilty, they indict him, as it 
is called. Then the man has a right to a fair trial before 
another jury, called the petit jury. So, when an officer 
is impeached by the House, he has a trial before another 
body, as we shall learn as we advance. 

In England, the House of Commons has the power of 
impeachment, and the House of Lords tries the one im¬ 
peached. Notwithstanding this you will learn wherein 
our laws are better than those of England. 


CHAPTER VIIL 


THE SEiTATE. 

The Constitution says,— 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each state, chosen by the legisla¬ 
tures thereof for six years, and each senator shall have 
one vote.’’ 

The legislators of a state are the men who are chosen 
by the people to make the state laws, for each state has 
its own home government, besides sharing in the benefits 
of the central or United States government, of which we 
are talking : just as each class in a school has its own 
rules which its members obey, besides obeying the rules 
made by the board of education and the principal of the 
school. 

For many reasons our forefathers were very desirous 
that the best men in our land should be elected to our 
Senate. There is no reason why they should not be. In 
the first place, the people do, or should, choose good men 
for their state legislature; and these men, who come from 


44 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG JLMERICANS. 


all parts of the state, have the choosing of the United 
States senator. 

There are two senators from every state, whether large 
or small; thus Rhode Island has as many votes in the 
Senate as New York, which has nearly twenty times as 
many people. This was thought no more than right, 
because the large states have so much more voice in the 
House of Representatives than the small states. 

Another excellent plan was adopted, as you will see. 
The senators are elected for six years. Now, if at the end 
of six years all the senators were new men, who had never 
had any experience in law-making, what sad work they 
would make of it 1 No one would know how to begin. 
Thanks to the wisdom of those who made our Constitu¬ 
tion, this cannot be, for the following reason. 

When the first senators were elected, they met in the 
capital of our country, and were divided into three classes. 
When the Constitution went into effect, there were but 
nine states that had adopted it. There were then eigh¬ 
teen senators. These were divided into the three classes, 
— six in the first, six in the second, and six in the third. 
According to the Constitution, the term of the first class 
was to expire in two years, the term of the second class 
was to expire in four years, and the term of the third class 
was to expire in six years. Remember this was only to 
be done that one time. So you see that now every two 


THE SENATE. 


45 


years one-third of the senators are newly elected, while 
two-thirds are old members and know all about the duties 
of senators. Everything, therefore, moves ofE in perfect 
order from the very first day they meet until the close of 
the session. Had not our forefathers been so thoughtful, 
the whole Senate might be made up of new men every 
six years; and with a number of inexperienced men 
together, there is no knowing what might be the result. 

If a senator dies or resigns his office, and the legisla¬ 
ture of his state is not in session, the governor of the 
state appoints some man to act as senator for that state, 
until the legislature meets and elects some one. 

The Constitution says,— 

“No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained 
the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen 
of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, 
be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be 
chosen.’’ 

You notice the senators have to be older than the rep¬ 
resentatives. There are many good reasons why they 
should be. As we advance, you will learn that the respon¬ 
sibility of a senator is greater than that of a representa¬ 
tive, and for this reason he should be a man of more 
mature years. The senator must also live in the state 
that chooses him, as he will know the wants of his own 
state better than one living in another state. 


46 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


The House of Lords is sometimes said to resemble our 
Senate. You will know how little resemblance there is 
when you have read what is to follow. 

The English House of Lords is composed of what are 
called the peers, or noblemen, of England, sixteen repre¬ 
sentative peers of Scotland, and twenty-eight representa¬ 
tive peers of Ireland; also the bishops and archbishops of 
the Church of England. The noblemen receive different 
titles, as duke, marquis, earl, viscount, and baron. 

A man to be elected to our Senate must show some 
talent, and not many, if any, ignorant men, or men lack¬ 
ing good, sound judgment, ever become members. 

How different in the House of Lords, where there is 
no choice! A person horn a nobleman, no matter how 
little good common sense he may display, cannot be 
deprived of his seat. Hence you see what kind of people 
may make up the House of Lords. 

If the king desires, he has the power to make a com¬ 
moner^ a peer, and as late as 1832 he exercised this power. 
There was a law the king wanted passed. The House of 
Lords did not think it a good law, and did not pass it. 
The king began to make peers of the commoners, intend¬ 
ing to make peers enough to get a majority in favor of his 
law, that it might be passed. 

The House of Lords, seeing that many were being 

^ The members of the House of Commons are commoners, as, if 
fact, are all persons under the degree of nobility. 


THE SENATE. 


47 


added to their house, finally agreed to pass the law, if the 
king would not make any more peers. They then called 
England a limited monarchy. Like the man who was 
being whipped by his wife, when some one said to him, 
My dear fellow, why do you stand still and let your wife 
whip you so ?“ Oh,’' said he, it pleases wife, and does 
not hurt me; so I let her whip.” Thus, no doubt, 
thought the king, It pleases the lords, and does not hurt 
me; therefore, I let them call ours a limited monarchy.” 
There is no doubt, however, that England is inclined to 
become more and more like a democracy, and the time 
may come when it will be. 

According to the Constitution, — 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be presk 
dent of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless they 
be equally divided.” 

If the Senate were to choose one of its own number 
for speaker, or president, the state which this one repre¬ 
sented, would be deprived of one of its senators. Again, 
the president has more or less power, and often influences 
the course of legislation; therefore, that state would have 
more than its share of power. The framers of the Con¬ 
stitution, ever thoughtful, said: We will make the 
Vice-President of the United States the president of the 
Senate; for he belongs not to any one state, but to 
the people at large, because he Las beo'a chosen by them 


48 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


for this high office.’* It is right, too, that he should 
have a vote, as there is always an even number of sena¬ 
tors, and a time may come when there will be a tie on 
some question before the Senate. Days, perhaps weeks, 
could thus be wasted, because neither side would be will¬ 
ing to yield; but the Vice-President, having a vote, can 
stop any such thing, by voting with one side, and thus 
make a majority. 

The Constitution states that,— 

‘‘ The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a 
president tempore in the absence of the Vice-Presi¬ 
dent, or when he shall exercise the office of President 
of the United States.” 

Nothing seems to have been forgotten. What a wise 
law this is! Just before Congress closes its session the 
Vice-President retires, and then the Senate elects a presi¬ 
dent pro tempore; so that, should the President of the 
United States die before the next session, the Vice-Presi¬ 
dent becomes President of the United States and the 
Senate can begin work at once, as there is a president to 
preside. 

The Constitution provides that, — 

‘^The Senate shall have sole power to try all impeach¬ 
ments. When sitting for that purpose they shall be 
on oath or affirmation. When the President of the 


THE SENATE. 


49 


United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside, 
and no person shall be convicted without the concur 
rence of two-thirds of the members present.” 

There are many wise provisions in this clause of the 
Constitution, as we shall see. It is much easier to call a 
man guilty of a crime, than it is to prove him guilty. So 
our forefathers placed the impeachment power in the 
House, but gave to the older and more select body the 
power to try all impeachments. 

There are people in our country who think that it is 
wrong to say, I solemnly swear,” etc., because the Bible 
says, Swear not at all.” Others think that the Bible 
means by this not to take the name of God in vain. The 
framers of the Constitution, being liberal-minded men, 
and not wishing in any way to interfere with the religious 
belief of any one, said that the words, I solemnly sivear," 
or ‘^1 solemnly affirm,"' may be used. 

During the meetings of the committee that framed the 
Constitution, Benjamin Franklin proposed one day, that 
prayer should be resorted to. Among other things he 
said : I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the 
more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God 
GOVERNS IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN. And if a sparrow can¬ 
not fall without His notice, is it probable that an empire 
can rise without His aid ? ” Surely we have every reason 
to think that Franklin was right. Nothing seems to hav« 


50 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


been overlooked. How wise to have the Chief Justice pre¬ 
side over the Senate when the President of the United States 
is on trial! Because, you remember, if the President is 
found guilty, the Vice-President becomes the President. 
Think of the temptation, then, for the Vice-President, were 
he presiding, sometimes to decide points against the Presi¬ 
dent, hoping he may be found guilty. Our forefathers 
removed all chances of temptation by requiring the Chief 
Justice to preside when the President of the United States 
is on trial. 

According to the Constitution, — 

Judgment in case of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualifica¬ 
tion to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or 
profit under the United States; but the party convicted 
shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, 
trial, and punishment, according to law.” 

This is another grand provision of the Constitution. 
Its meaning is, that, though a man who is impeached 
may be tried and found guilty by the Senate, the Senate 
can punish him only by removing him from office. Then 
if his offence is anything for which he can be punished by 
law, he can have another trial by jury. You learn from 
this, that there is only one way by which a man can be 
deprived of liberty or put to death, and that is after 


THE SENATE. 


51 


he lias had^a fair trial and has been found guilty of an 
offence. 

How different this was in England! There the House 
of Lords might then inflict banishment from the country, 
take a man’s property from him, put him in prison, or 
sentence him to death. 

There are many cases in history of men who have 
worked hard for the party which they represented, and 
have thus made enemies, who, to get them out of the way, 
have had them impeached, found guilty, and sentenced to 
death. All this because they stood in the way of the 
wicked schemes of their opponents in office. 

My young American friends, be proud of the fact that 
your forefathers were the first in the world to do 

AWAY WITH SUCH A BAD, BAD LAW. 

In this country, an officer is tried on an impeachment. 
If found guilty, he is removed from office. He is then 
arrested, if his crime is one for which it is thought he 
should be arrested, given a fair trial by a court of justice, 
and if found guilty, he is punished. He has, however, a 
trial by jury, the same as any other man, and hence his 
political enemies have no power over him. 

The Constitution states that, — 

The time, place, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in 
each state by the legislature thereof; but Congress 


62 


CIVICS FOK YOUNG AMERICANS. 


may at any time, by law, make or alter such regula¬ 
tion, except as to the place of choosing senators.*' 

This is for the following reason: Should the legisla¬ 
ture of a state become disloyal or negligent, and fail to 
call an election. Congress can do so, in order to protect 
itself. Then, if they do not attend to it. Congress can set 
a time, and if they still neglect it, they lose their repre¬ 
sentative in Congress for that term. 

Congress meets at least once a year, so there can be no 
chance for the country to suffer from want of legislation. 
The meetings begin on the first Monday in December. 

The Constitution says,— 

Each house shall be the judge of the election returns, 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority 
of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but 
a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and 
may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent 
members in such manner and under such penalties as 
each house may provide.” 

This is a thoughtful provision, for it might happen 
that two men from the same state might each claim to 
have been regularly elected a senator or representative. 
In all such cases, you will notice, the house to which the 
man claims to have been elected, hears both sides, and then 


THE SENATE. 


53 


determines who is entitled to the seat. If some other de¬ 
partment had the power to determine who was entitled to 
the seat, there might be a time when said department 
would be strongly partisan, and hence it would be 
tempted to decide in favor of the one belonging to its 
own party. 

It is. also well that the Constitution requires a major¬ 
ity to make the laws, for if it did not, a small number of 
either house might meet and make bad laws to carry out 
some scheme of their own. 

Our forefathers thought that there might come a time 
during some high political excitement, when a majority 
of either house might stay away, thinking by so doing to 
stopdegislation. To prevent this they give the minority 
power to oblige the majority to be present. 

In England, the House of Commons can do business 
with a comparatively small portion of the members 
present. A quorum of the House of Lords, including the 
Chancellor, is three ! 

By the Constitution, — 

^^Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, 
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with 
the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.” 

The framers of the Constitution showed their wisdom 
in making each house an independent body. The rules 


54 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


that govern the house are called Parliamentary Law. 
These rules or laws every member is obliged to respect. 

One important rule is, that no bill, i.e. a proposed law, 
shall be passed without being read before the house three 
times, and, furthermore, the three readings shall not take 
place on the same day. 

It often happens that a bill is read which sounds as if 
it would be an excellent law; but some wise-head, who 
thinks it over during the night, surprises his fellow-mem¬ 
bers in the morning by showing them wherein it would 
not be good at all, but, in fact, would be very bad. For 
example, the captain of a boat once made a law (without 
a third reading) which read as follows, — 

The seats in this cabin are reserved for ladies. Gen¬ 
tlemen are requested not to occupy them until the ladies 
are seated.’' 

At the first reading this sounds like a very good law; 
but read it again thoughtfully, and you see it gives the 
gentlemen the liberty to sit in the ladies’ laps! 

How wise, too, is the clause which requires a two- 
thirds vote to expel a member. Rarely ever has one 
party a two-thirds majority, hence no member can be 
expelled on mere party grounds. Could a majority expel 
a member, there might be a temptation, during some high 
political excitement, to expel a member, (or members,) 
simply because he was of the opposite party. Our wise 
old forefathers, however, left no such temptation possible. 


THE SENATE. 


55 


Again, — 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such 
parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and 
the yeas and nays of the members of either house on 
any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal.” 

This is no more than right, as the congressmen are 
the agents of the people, and the people have a right to 
know what their agents are doing. 

The yeas and nays clause is a thoughtful one; for 
a man voting on a bill will be very careful if he is 
voting by yea or nay, as at any time in the future his 
constituents can tell just how he voted. 

The yeas and nays are taken by having the clerk call 
the roll, and those members who are in favor of the bill, 
when their names are called, say yea.” Those who are 
opposed to the bill, when their names are called, say 
nay.” The answers are written opposite each member’s 
name. 

Everything in this free country is done openly. Any 
person may go into either house and stay as long as he 
may desire, excepting on rare occasions, when, as in time 
of war, it is thought best by either house to require 
secrecy, when they hold what are called executive sessions. 


56 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


In England, no person can go into the House of Parlia¬ 
ment without an order, or pass, from some member, and 
even then all persons not members must retire from the 
floor when a vote is about to be taken. The galleries may 
be cleared by the Speaker if so requested by a member. 
The Constitution provides that, — 

The senators and representatives shall receive a com¬ 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, 
and paid out of the treasury of the United States. 
They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during 
their attendance at the session of their respective 
houses, and in going to and returning from the same; 
and for any speech or debate in either house they 
shall not be questioned in any other place.’' 

This is one of the most important clauses in the Con¬ 
stitution. If payment were left with the different states 
it might not always be prompt or sure, and so, many 
times, the senators or representatives might feel they 
need not attend and work for uncertain pay. In fact, 
there were just such cases during the Confederation, and 
our forefathers, seeing the evils of them, made the new 
Constitution on a wiser plan. 

Again, if the pay of the congressmen were left with 
the states, the national or head government would be 
dependent upon the local or state governments. This 
would be very unjust. 


THE SENATE. 


57 


The members of the houses in England do not receive 
any pay. The result is, that the members who are not 
wealthy have to depend on their wealthy friends, and 
therefore must at all times act to please them. 

A man who is making the laws of a nation should be 
independent to act as his conscience tells him, and not as 
some one else may dictate to him. 

The last part of this clause in our Constitution is as 
important as the first ; for how often might a state be 
deprived of a representative, if he could be arrested for 
any petty offence. There might be a time when a law 
ought to be passed which a few men did not, for selfish 
reasons, desire passed. To carry out their selfish ends 
they might have a member arrested on some trifling 
charge, just to keep him from the house, that he might 
not vote for the law. Of course, if a member is guilty 
of a high crime, he is not fit to be a congressman, and it 
is right that he be arrested. 

Our forefathers knew that a man should not fear to 
Bay just what he thinks, at all times, about a law or bill 
which may come before the house of which he is a mem¬ 
ber, and in order that he may not fear to do so, they 
added this provision to the Constitution: That no person 
shall be questioned in any other place for what he may 
say while making a speech at debate in either house.” 
Freedom of speech, as they very well knew, is absolutely 
necessary to good government. 


58 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


In England, a member cannot be held for what he says 
in either house, but if he has the speech printed he can 
be prosecuted. 

In our country, a member is free to print all of his 
speeches if he so desire. 

Notice how careful the framers of the Constitution 
were to remove temptation from those who were to be 
our congressmen. 

By a thoughtful provision of the Constitution, — 

^^No senator or representative shall, during the time 
for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil 
office under the authority of the United States, which 
shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof 
shall have been increased during such time; and no 
person holding any office under the United States, shall 
be a member of either house during his continuance in 
office.” 

This clause of the Constitution makes it impossible for 
a member of Congress to cause a paying office to be 
created for his own good. The country needs the time 
of the representatives to do work for the good of the 
people, and not for themselves. 

The law makers should not have anything else on 
their minds when making the laws for a nation, thought 
our forefathers, and hence they added the last part of 
this clause, forbidding congressmen to hold office. 


THE SENATE. 


59 


In England, a man while a member of either house 
can hold an office under the goveTnment. 

The Constitution requires that,— 

» 

All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives, but the Senate may oppose 
or concur with amendments as on other bills.” 

This clause means that all bills for raising money, 
. that is, that tell how the money shall be raised for carry¬ 
ing on the government, shall be first passed in the House. 
Why our forefathers thought this a wise thing is not 
clear. Probably they thought that because it is the larger 
house the bills would come more directly from the people. 
The last part of the clause is wise, as it prevents the 
House from having too much power. I 

In England, all money bills must originate in the 
House of Commons, but the House of Lords cannot change 
them in any way. This gives the House of Commons 
great power if they choose to use it. There are what are 
called riders ” sometimes added to a bill. A rider ” is a 
part of a bill that has really no relation to the main bill, 
yet the bill, to be passed, must be passed rider” and all. 

Sometimes the House of Commons adds a rider ” to 
a money bill. It may be something which the House of 
Lords dislikes very much, still it cannot change the bill 
in SJDJ ¥^9y. It must pass it or re'^ect it. To reject it 


60 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


may stop the payments of pensions or salaries, and thus 
throw the country into confusion. Rather than do this 
the Lords pass the bill, rider ” and all. 

We should be proud to know that one of our houses 
can never so impose on the other. 

Study the following clause very carefully, as it tells 
how the laws are made by Congress; — 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives and the Senate, shall, before it become 
a law, be presented to the President of the United 
States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he 
shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 
objections at large on their journal, and proceed to 
reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two^ 
thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it 
shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other 
house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and 
if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become 
a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses 
shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names 
of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be 
entered on the journal of each house respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the President within 
ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been 
presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like 


THE SENATE. 


G1 


manner as if lie had signed it, unless the Congress, by 
their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it 
shall not be a law.’’ 

You see by this clause how hard it is to make a bad 
law. In the first place, the bill is passed by one of the 
houses. It is then sent to the other house. If the second 
house passes it, then it goes to the President of the 
United States. After he has looked it over carefully, he 
either signs it, and it becomes a law, or he vetoes it, 
that is, refuses to sign it, and sends it back to the house 
that first passed it. Now, before it can become a law, 
two-thirds of this house have to favor it. Next, it is sent 
to the second house again, where a two-thirds vote is also 
necessary. If the two houses pass it a second time, it 
becomes a law without the President’s name. You also 
notice that the second time the houses vote on the bill 
they do so by a yea or nay vote, which, as we have said 
before, causes the members to vote very thoughtfully. 

In England, if the king vetoed a bill, it could not be¬ 
come a law. This gave him great power. It is now. 
claimed, The queen has no such veto. She must sign her 
own death-warrant, if the two Houses unanimously send 
it up to her.” They have thus gone to the other extreme. 

In order to prevent wrong legislation, the following 
clause was added to the Constitution: 


62 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concur¬ 
rence of the Senate and House of Representatives may 
be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) 
shall be presented to the President of the United 
States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be 
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall 
be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, according to the rules and limitations 
prescribed in the case of a bill.” 

If an order or resolution could be passed by Congress, 
without the signature of the President, a hill or matter oj 
great importance, might, by calling it a resolution or order, 
become a law without the President’s assent. 


CHAPTEK IX. 


WHAT CONGRESS HAS POWER TO DO. 

The Constitution provides that,— 

•‘Congress shall have power (1) to lay and collect taxes, 
duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and pro¬ 
vide for the common defence and general welfare of 
the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States/' 

You remember that during the Confederation Congress 
had not this power, and the result was we had no gov¬ 
ernment. 

“(2) To borrow money on the credit of the United 
States.” 

During the war of 1812 and also during the Civil War 
this proved to be a wise provision, for had Congress been 
without this power there would have been no money to 
carry on the war, and we might not to-day have been 
living in a republic. 


64 


CIYICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


(3) To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and 
among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” 

This means to make the rules that must be followed 
by other nations who enter our ports. You remember 
reading in your history that, during the Confederation, 
foreign nations placed such restrictions as they pleased on 
our commerce, but Congress had no power to do the same 
with them, and hence we were at the mercy of those for¬ 
eign nations. 

(4) To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and 
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies through¬ 
out the United States.” 

If Congress had not this power each state might have 
a different law which would oftentimes cause trouble. 

(5) To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of 
foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and 
measures.” 

If money was not of the same value all over the coun¬ 
try there would be constant confusion. If the weights 
and measures were not uniform, one state might call ten 
ounces a pound, and another state might call twenty 
ounces a pound, which, of course, would be a very foolish 
and confusing condition of things. 


WHAT CONGEESS HAS POWER TO DO. 


65 


(6) To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting 
the securities and current coin of the United States.” 

A man guilty of counterfeiting the securities and 
moneys of the United States commits an offence, not 
against any one state, but against the government; hence 
it is right that the government should have the power to 
provide for his punishment. 

(7) To establish post-offices and post-roads.” 

A post-road is one over Avhich the mail is carried ; all 
railroads are post-roads. 

(8) To promote the progress of science and useful arts, 
by securing for limited times to authors and inventors 
the exclusive right to their respective writings and 
discoveries.” 

This means to grant copyrights and patents. The 
power is given to Congress in order that the copyright 
or patent may be as good and binding in one state as 
another. By a copyright an author is given the sole 
right to print and sell his work in the United States for 
a period of twenty-eight years, at the end of which time 
he can have it continued fourteen years longer. An 
inventor’s patent secures to him the sole right to make, 
use, or sell his invention in the United States for a period 


66 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


of seventeen years, and, if renewed, for the additional 
period of seven years. 

(9) To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme 
Court. 

(10) To define and punish piracies and felonies com¬ 
mitted on the high seas, and offences against the law 
of nations. 

(11) To declare war, grant letters of marque and 
reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land 
and water.’* 

If a citizen of the United States should be guilty of 
piracy or felony, foreign countries would hold the general 
government responsible for it, and not any one state : 
therefore the government should have the power to pum 
ish such offences. 

To grant letters of marque and reprisal is to grant 
commissions to citizens to seize the property of an enemy 
at war. If individuals were to do this of themselves they 
could, if captured, be treated as pirates. But if they have 
these letters of marque and reprisal they must, if captured 
by the enemy, be treated as prisoners of war. 

(12) To raise and support armies; but no appropriation 
of money to that use shall be for a longer term than 
two years. 

(13) To provide and maintain a navy. 


WHAT CONGRESS HAS POWER TO DO. 67 

(14) To make rules for the government and regulation 
of the land and naval forces. 

(16) To provide for calling forth the militia to execute 
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel 
invasions. 

(16) To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining 
the militia, and for governing such part of them as 
may be employed in the service of the United States, 
reserving to the states respectively the appointment of 
the officers, and the authority of training the militia 
according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.’' 

Dr. Jgseph Alden says, when writing of the above 
powers of Congress: Under the Confederation, Congress 
had no power to raise armies. It had power simply to 
agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requi¬ 
sitions from each state for its quota. It was the duty of 
each state to furnish its quota. Experience proved that 
the system was miserably inadequate.” 

If Congress had not power to organize, arm, and disci¬ 
pline the militia, it would be necessary to keep a standing 
army, which would be a great expense to the government. 

(17) To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases what¬ 
soever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles 
square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the 
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the govern- 


68 


CIVICS FOE YOUNG AMERICANS. 


ment of the United States; and to exercise like author¬ 
ity over all places purchased by the consent of the 
legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for 
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, 
and other needful buildings ; — and 
‘^To make all . laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and 
all other powers vested by this Constitution in the 
government of the United States, or in any department 
or officer thereof.” 

This has reference to the District of Columbia in 
which Washington, the capital of the United States, is 
situated, and all other property owned by the govern 
ment. In order that Congress may be independent, it 
is necessary that it should possess supreme authority 
over the place of its sessions. 

At one time the Congress of the Confederation, during 
its meetings in Philadelphia, was surrounded by a mob of 
mutineers from the Continental army, who were angry 
because they had not received any pay for several months. 

The governor of the state was so tardy about taking 
any steps to defend Congress that it adjourned to Prince¬ 
ton, N. J. Had Congress had the power then over its 
place of meeting that it now has, the mutineers would 
have been quelled at once. 


CHAPTER X. 


WHAT CONGRESS AND THE STATES CANNOT DO. 

In this country we have what is called the writ of 
habeas corpus} It is to prevent unjust imprisonment. 
If a man is arrested and placed in prison, a writ of 
habeas corpus may be sued out before a legal judge. 
The judge, by the ^^writ of habeas corpusf orders that 
the arrested man be brought before him. The man who 
caused the arrest must then show good reason for it, or 
the person accused is discharged. (See page 74.) 

Notice the following important clause of the Constitu¬ 
tion, — 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or inva¬ 
sion the public safety may require it.” 

This is a law of which every American should be 
proud. In some countries men have been kept in prison 

^ These are two Latin words which mean, “you may have the 
body.” 


70 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


year after year until they have sickened and died with 
broken hearts, when there was no just cause why they 
should have been imprisoned at all. 

Again, — 

No bill of attainder or ex post-facto law shall be passed.” 

A bill of attainder is an act of the legislature inflicting 
the punishment of death, without trial, upon persons sup¬ 
posed to be guilty of high crimes. What a fearful law 
this is! Many men have been made to suffer by it. No 
such bloody deeds can be done in the United States, and 

OURS IS THE FIRST GOVERNMENT PROHIBITING ACTS OF 
ATTAINDER. My young Americans, are you not proud of 
our noble old forefathers ? 

An ex post-facto ^ law is one which renders an act 
punishable after it was done, which was not punishable 
at the time it was committed. 

When a law has been made, it should be published at 
once, that the people may know what it is. Not, how¬ 
ever, as the Roman Emperor, Caligula, is said to have 
published his laws ; (1) by having them written in very 
small characters and (2) by having them hung upon high 
pillars, so that he could ensnare the people, which by the 
way, he often did. In fact, so vile was he, that one his¬ 
torian has said that his ferocious acts seem like the 


Meaning “ after the deed is done. 


WHAT CONGRESS AND THE STATES CANNOT DO. 71 

wild freaks of a madman.” If the laws of this old tyrant 
were unjust, how much more so are those laws, that make 
an act punishable after the deed is done, that was not 
unlawful at the time it was committed. 

For example, let us suppose that on August first, John 
Smith, while hunting, shoots a deer. After the shooting, 
a law is enacted making it unlawful to shoot deer on 
August first, when Mr. Smith is arrested and put into 
prison for having shot the deer. How wrong such an 
imprisonment would be, and how unjust the law that 
would make Mr. Smith’s act a punishable one! and yet 
there are countries that have had these ex post-facto 
laws. Our Constitution prohibits such injustice. 

The following are wise provisions of the Constitution 
with reference to the several states, — 

(1) No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported 
from any state. 

(2) No preference shall be given by any regulation of 
commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over 
those of another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, 
one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in 
another.” 

You remember how England passed a law during the 
colonial times, prohibiting the colonies importing any¬ 
thing whatever from any country in Europe, unless it was 
shipped from an English port and in an English ship. 


72 


CIVICS FOE YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Our forefathers, remembering this unjust law of Eng¬ 
land, determined that no such law should ever exist ^ 
between the states. The different states are treated with 
equal justice. 

(3) No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
consequence of appropriations made by law; and a 
regular statement and account of the receipts and 
expenditures of all public money shall be published 
from time to time.” 

This clause is for the purpose of protecting the public 
funds. Those who have charge of the moneys will be 
more careful if they know they must publish just how 
much money they have received, and how much paid out, 
and for what purposes. 

(4) No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States, and no person holding any office of profit or 
trust under them, shall, without the consent of the 
Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or 
title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or 
foreign state.” 

In republics all men have equal rights. There should, 
then, be no titles of nobility. If foreign nations could 
confer titles of nobility on our officers, they might be 
offered sometimes as bribes. 


WHAT CONGRESS AND THE STATES CANNOT DO. 73 

You have learned that Congress is forbidden to pass 
certain laws; that prohibition would be of little use if the 
states were not also prohibited from passing them. You 
will notice that the following clauses of the Constitution 
make such prohibitions : — 

‘^(5) No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, g. 
confederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal; 
coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but 
gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; 
pass any bill of attainder, ex post-facto law, or law 
impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any 
title of nobility. 

(6) No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, 
lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, ex¬ 
cept what may be absolutely necessary for executing 
its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties 
and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, 
shall be for the use of the treasury of the United 
States; and all such laws shall be subject to the re¬ 
vision and control of the Congress. 

(7) No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay 
any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in 
time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact 
with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage 
in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent 
danger as will not admit of delay.” 


74 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Although the states are given the power to lay 
imposts, etc., it is impossible for them to abuse this 
[)Ower, as all such laws are subject to the revision and 
control of the Congress. 

Note. —The writ of habeas corpus is also used when 
a person is detained for any cause, though, perhaps, not 
under arrest or imprisoned. For example, John Doe has 
Tvichard Roe’s boy in his possession and refuses to give 
him up. Mr. Roe’s remedy is to sue out a writ of habeas 
corpus. Only judges of a Court of Record have the 
power to issue such writs. 


CHAPTER XI. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Do you know that when your father votes, he does not 
vote directly for the President of the United States, but 
for men called electors, and these vote for the President ? 
This method was planned by our forefathers, because 
they thought it would be a surer way of choosing one of 
the best citizens. 

They thought that if the people of each state were to 
choose a number of the best citizens as electors, that 
these electors could meet and choose a President and Vice- 
President better than the people at large, and so the Con 
stitution provides that, — 

The executive power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his 
office during the term of four years, and, together 
with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be 
elected as follows. 

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legisla¬ 
ture thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal 


76 


CIVICS FOR youjNa Americans. 


to the whole number of senators and representatives 
to which the state may be entitled in the Congress; 
but no senator or representative, or person holding an 
office of trust or profit under the United States, shall 
be appointed an elector/* 

It is the duty of the President to execute the laws. 
The history of past nations shows that it is much better 
to have the executive power in the hands of a single per¬ 
son. Even some of our own states, during the Revolu¬ 
tionary War, gave the executive power into the hands of 
more than one person. By reading the history of Penn¬ 
sylvania you will learn of the evils resulting from that 
plan. 

The President is elected for four years, but he can be 
re-elected as often as the people choose. Washington, 
however, recommended that he never be elected for more 
than two terms. “ The weakness and wickedness of man 
require that great power should not be in the same hands 
for any great length of time.** 

The last provision of this clause is also a wise one; 
for a man holding an office would be tempted to vote for 
one who would keep him in office. As it is, the electors 
have no interest of their own in choosing the President. 

These are the rules laid down in the Constitution for 
the election,— 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


77 


^(1) The electors shall meet in their respective states, 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one 
of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the 
same state with themselves; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and in dis¬ 
tinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and 
they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for 
as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-Presi¬ 
dent, and of the number of votes for each, which lists 
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the 
seat of the government of the United States, directed 
to the president of the Senate; the president of the 
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes 
shall be counted; the person having the greatest num¬ 
ber of votes for President shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then 
from the persons having the highest numbers, not ex¬ 
ceeding three on the list of those voted for as Presi¬ 
dent, the House of Representatives shall choose imme¬ 
diately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the 
President, the votes shall be taken by states, the repre¬ 
sentation from each state having one vote; a quorum 
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the 
states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House 


78 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


of Representatives shall not choose a President when¬ 
ever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, be¬ 
fore the fourth day of March next following, then the 
Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of 
the death or other constitutional disability of the Presi¬ 
dent. 

(2) The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate 
shall choose the Vice-President: a quorum for the pur¬ 
pose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number 
of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall 
be necessary to a choice. 

(3) But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office 
of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President 
of the United States.” 

This clause is not carried out as it was intended to be. 
For, you know, the people now nominate their candidates 
and vote for the electors, and these are expected to vote 
for their candidate. If, however, by any action of his 
own, a candidate proves himself unfit for this high office, 
the electors are under no obligation to vote for him. 

You notice that, if the electors fail to elect a President 
the House of Representatives proceeds to elect one, be- 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


79 


cause, the House of Kepresentatives being the larger body 
of Congress, the choice conies more directly from the 
people. The privilege of electing the Vice-President, 
when the electors have failed to do so, is given to the 
Senate, because when elected he becomes their presiding 
officer. 

You may have heard sometime that the candidate 
receiving the popular vote was not after all elected Presi¬ 
dent. Let us see how this is possible. We will suppose 
there are six states, say the New England, which will 
answer our purpose as well as the whole thirty-eight. 

Maine is entitled to 6 electors. 

Vermont is entitled to 4 electors. 

New Hampshire is entitled to 4 electors. 

Massachusetts is entitled to 14 electors. 

Connecticut is entitled to 6 electors. 

Khode Island is entitled to 4 electors. 

Now we will suppose that one party has for a candi¬ 
date John Doe, and that another party has for a can¬ 
didate Richard Roe. The following table will show the 
result;— 


80 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Name of states. 

Votes cast 
for Roe 
electors. 

Votes cast 
for Doe 
electors. 

Roe’s 

majority. 

Doe’s 

majority. 

No. of 

electors. 

No. electors 

for Roe. || 

1 No. electors 

1 for Doe. j 

Maine .... 

20,000 

15,000 

5000 


6 

6 


Vermont . . . 

10,000 

11,000 


1000 

4 


4 

New Hampshire 

12,000 

11,000 

1000 


4 

4 


Massachusetts . 

30,000 

32,000 


2000 

14 


14 

Connecticut. . 

20,000 

15,000 

5000 


6 

6 


Rhode Island . 

10,000 

11,000 


1000 

4 


4 

Total . . . 

102,000 

95,000 

11,000 

4000 

38 

16 

22 


You see that, notwithstanding 7000 more votes were 
cast by the Roe party than by the Doe party, Doe is 
elected President because he has the greatest number of 
electors. It makes no difference whether a man carries a 
state by one thousand or only one majority; he has the vote 
of the electors from that state 

1 People have sometimes felt that the framers of the Constitution 
were unjust in making it possible for a man to be elected President 
of the United States without having received the popular vote. Let 
us study the plan carefully, and we shall find that our forefathers 
were as thoughtful in this matter as we have found they were in 
every other. There were, at the time of Mr. Cleveland’s election, 
three hundred and twenty-five (325) members in the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives, and seventy-six (76) members in the Senate, making 















THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


81 


According to the Constitution, — 

^^The Congress may determine the time of choosing the 
electors, and the day on which they shall give their 
votes; which day shall be the same throughout the 
United States.” 

And it also states that, — 

No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of 
the United States at the time of the adoption of this 
Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of Presi¬ 
dent ; neither shall any person be eligible to that 

in all four hundred and one (401) representatives of the people to 
make their laws for the country. Of these New York, for example, 
had thirty-four in the House and two in the Senate, or of the 
whole number. If New York had had one-half of all the members, 
she, of course, would have had one-half to say when a new law was 
being made. Since she did have of the members she had to 
say. 

Now, let us suppose that a new law has been passed. There is to 
be elected an executive to execute this law. How much shall New 
York have to say about this election ? There are to be elected four 
hundred and one (401) electors, and of these New York is entitled 
to thirty-six (36), or of the whole number. New York, then, 
has just as much to say as to who shall execute that law as she had 
In making the law. What can be more just? We must not lose 
sight of the fact that the President is President of the United States, 
therefore, the States, as States, should have the choosing of him for 
his high oflace. 


82 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident 
within the United States.’' 

According to law, the electors are chosen on the Tues¬ 
day next after the first Monday in the last November of 
each presidential term; that is, the gentleman who is 
now President will have served his term of office by the 
following 4th of March. The electors, then, that are 
to choose his successor will be chosen on the first Tues¬ 
day next after the first Monday in the last November of 
his term. 

According to law, the electors meet to give their votes 
on the second Monday in the last January of each presi¬ 
dential term. 

The electors meet in their respective states, usually in 
the state capitol. 

Only American citizens of the United States can be 
elected President or Vice-President of the United States. 
The exception named in the Constitution was a compli¬ 
ment to those patriotic men who had labored for the 
country during the War of the Revolution. All of these 
men are now dead, and no one but a native-born citizen 
can be elected. 

The Constitution requires that, — 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


83 


In case of the removal of the President from office, or of 
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the 
powers and duties of the said office, the same shall 
devolve on the Vice-President; and the Congress may 
by law provide for the case of removal, death, resigna¬ 
tion, or inability, both of the President and Vice-Presi¬ 
dent, declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disabil¬ 
ity be removed, or a President shall be elected.’^ 

For many years it was understood that if the Presi¬ 
dent and Vice-President were both removed, by death or 
other cause, from the office of President, the president of 
the Senate pro tempore should act as President. 

Five Presidents have died in office, viz.: Harrison, 
Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley, and the following 
Vice-Presidents became Presidents, viz.: Tyler, Fillmore, 
Johnson, Arthur and Roosevelt. More or less anxiety has 
always been felt when a Vice-President becomes President, 
as all know it is possible for the Vice-President to die 
before his term of office expires. 

Many people felt that it would hardly be just for the 
president of the Senate pro tempore to act as President, 
because he might be of one party and the President might 
have been of another party. The people by their votes 
might have said they desired a change of party. By 
this act it was possible that there would be no change, 
therefore a new law has been made. 


84 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


When a man is elected President of the United State*, 
he appoints nine men of his party to aid him in exe¬ 
cuting the laws. These men are called the President's 
Cabinet, and are known as the Secretary of State, the Sep- 
retary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Attor¬ 
ney-General, the Postmaster-General, the Secretary of the 
Navy, and the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture 
and of Commerce and Labor. 

The President's Cabinet, consisting of able and well- 
known men, and being also of the same party as the 
President and Vice-President, it was thought no more 
than right that should the President and Vice-President 
both be removed from office by death or any other cause, 
the members of the Cabinet should be their successors. 
And, hence, according to law the first in order is the 
Secretary of State; the succession then passes from one 
member of the Cabinet to another in the following order: 
(1) Secretary of the Treasury; (2) Secretary of War; (3) 
Attorney-General; (4) Postmaster-General; (5) Secretary 
of the Navy ; (6) Secretary of the Interior . 

The Constitution next provides that, — 

(1) The President shall, at stated times, receive for his 
services a compensation, which shall neither be in¬ 
creased nor diminished during the period for which 
he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that period any other emolument from the 
United States, or any of them. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 85 

(2) Before he enter on the execution of his office, he 
shall take the following oath or affirmation: — 

^ I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the office of President of the United States, 
and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, 
and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ ” 

This is a wise provision, as it renders the President 
independent of Congress. ^^If his salary could be in¬ 
creased, he might be tempted to conform to the wishes of 
the house to gain an increase of income. If his salary 
could be diminished, the house might use that power to 
make him subservient.” 

All of the Presidents up to the time of General Grant’s 
second term received a salary of ^25,000 a year. Since 
that time they have received $50,000 a year. 

(3) The President shall be commander-in-chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia 
of the several states, when called into the actual ser¬ 
vice of the United States; he may require the opinion, 
in writing, of the principal officer in each of the execu¬ 
tive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices, and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment/’ 


8G 


CIVICS FOK YOUNG AMERICANS. 


The army and navy should be under the control of the 
President, because it is his duty to see that the laws are 
executed. If at any time force is required, he has the 
military power to assist him. 

By the heads of departments are meant the members 
of the President’s Cabinet. It was thought they would be 
more careful if obliged to give their opinions in writing. 

It is possible for a man to be found guilty of a crimt 
when he is innocent. If there was not any pardoning 
power there would be no way of righting an injustice. 

If the President could pardon a man found guilty on 
Impeachment, he might be tempted to favor his political 
friends, no matter what their political offence might be. 

(4) He shall have power, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two- 
thirds of the senators pre sent concur; and he shall 
nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and 
all other officers of the United States, whose appoint¬ 
ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which 
shall be established by law: but the Congress may 
by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, 
as they think proper, in the President alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments.” 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT- 


87 


The power to make treaties is placed in the hands of 
the President because at all times he is familiar with for¬ 
eign affairs. Then, oftentimes, it is well to maintain 
secrecy while making a treaty. This could not be done 
in large bodies. The President must act with care, as his 
treaties are not binding upon the United States till two- 
thirds of the Senate agree to them. 

By ambassadors are meant ministers of the highest 
rank. They are sent by the government to represent it, 
and manage its interests at the court of some other gov¬ 
ernment. 

Consuls are agents for the government. They are 
sent to foreign countries to look after, and protect the 
rights, commerce, merchants, and government seamen, and 
attend to such other duties as may be given them. 

These are important positions, and good men should 
be chosen to fill them. For this reason our forefathers 
thought best to place their appointment in the hands 
of the President of the United States and the Senate. 

^^(5) The President shall have power to fill up all vacan¬ 
cies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, 
by granting commissions which shall expire at the end 
of their next session.” 

It was necessary to give this power to the President, 
in order that all of the departments of the government 
might at all times be in working order. 


88 


CIYICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


^‘(6) The President shall from time to time give to the 
Congress information of the state of the Union, and 
recommend to their consideration such measures as he 
shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either 
of them, and in case of disagreement between them, 
with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; 
he shall receive ambassadors and other public minis¬ 
ters ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed, and shall commission all the officers of the 
United States.” 

The information is given to Congress in the form of 
a written message and is called, The President’s Mes¬ 
sage.” 

At the time of the firing upon Fort Sumter the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States convened Congress, which met 
and took action at once to defend the Union. Had the 
President not been given the power to convene Congress, 
there is no knowing what might have happened to our 
country. 

Our forefathers thought it wise that some one person 
be responsible for the reception of ambassadors and other 
public ministers, and hence they designated the President 
as such person. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 


89 


\^f) The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of 
the United States, shall be removed from office on im-y 
peachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or/' 
other high crimes and misdemeanors.’' 

By this clause officers are plainly told upon what 
ground they may be impeached. This was in order that 
no officer should be impeached by an ex post-facto law. 
We will see in another chapter what is meant by treason 
and bribery. 

In England, the king is the executive. He appoints 
his ministers, who perform all executive acts in his name, 
and are responsible to the nation. It is a maxim of the 
English Constitution that ^ the king can do no wrong ’; 
but if his ministers do wrong ” (even though they act to 
please the king) they cannot plead the king’s commands 
in justification,” ^ but are held responsible to the country 
themselves. 

You may have heard people say that it is bad for our 
country to have a change in administrators so often, 
meaning every four years. Just notice carefully what is 
to follow, and you will learn how much better off our 
country is, in this respect, than England. The ministers 
are termed the administrators in England. The character 
of the administration depends upon the character of the 
majority of the House of Commons. If a majority of the 


Alden's Science of Government. 


90 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


House are Whigs/ the administration will be a Whig ad¬ 
ministration ; that is, the king will send for a leading Whig 
statesman, and tell him to form an administration. He 
selects such men for his associates as he thinks best, and 
they are appointed by the king. The person who forms 
the administration is called the Prime Minister, and 
selects his office, commonly that of the first Lord of the 
Treasury. 

The cabinet, or cabinet-council, consists of such of the 
prominent ministers as are more immediately in the con¬ 
fidence of the king, who are summoned to consult upon 
executive matters. 

If, while a Whig ministry is in power, the political 
character of the House of Commons should change, and 
a majority become Tories, one of two things would take 
place. The ministers would resign and a Tory adminis¬ 
tration be formed, or Parliament loould he dissolved and 
a new election held. If, in the new Parliament, the 
majority were Whigs, the ministers would remain in office; 
if not, they would resign. Thus, while the ministers are 
said to hold office at the will of the king, they really hold 
office at the will of the majority in the House of Com¬ 
mons. Changes in the administration are consequently 
more frequent in England than in the United States.” ^ 

^ The Whigs are those who advocate popular rights. The Tories 
are those who support the king in his high claims. 

* Alden. 


CHAPTER Xn. 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

We are now to learn of the most important depart¬ 
ment, the judicial. 

The Congress makes the laws, theJjididaj^i^d^^a^^^^ 
ment interprets and applies^ thoseTaws. The rights of 
the people then depend more upon the ability and hon¬ 
esty of the judges than upon any other department of the 
government. There can be no prosperity in a govern¬ 
ment where justice is not to be had. The judiciary de¬ 
partment has the administering of justice in its hands. 
Our forefathers knew this, and for that reason they were 
careful to make the judicial an able and independent de¬ 
partment, and hence provided that,— 

(1) The judicial power of the United States shall be 
vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior 
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain 
and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their 


92 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


services a compensation, which shall not be diminished 
during their continuance in office.” 

You learn from this clause how the judges are made 
independent of all political parties. Their office depends 
on their own good behavior. As long as they are honest 
and upright there is no earthly power that can remove 
them. If they are not honest and upright, they can be 
impeached by the House, and, after trial by the Senate, 
can be removed from office. Another wise provision is 
that which says their compensation, i.e, their salary, can¬ 
not be diminished during their continuance in office, so 
there is no temptation for Congress to try to starve them 
to do as they might desire them. You remember that in 
the colonial times the judges held their offices at the will 
of the king. This is yet true in many monarchial govern¬ 
ments. It is a sad condition of things, and we should 
all be thankful that our forefathers showed such wisdom 
when forming this portion of our Constitution. 

The Supreme Court of the United States is composed 
of one chief-justice, and eight associate justices. The 
chief-justice receives a salary of $10,500 a year, and the 
associate justices receive each $10,000 a year 

The other officers of the national courts are the attor¬ 
ney-general, the district-attorneys, the marshals, and the 
clerks, each of whom has his own particular duties to 
perform. 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 


93 


(2) The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law 
and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws 
of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall 
he made, under their authority ; to all cases affecting 
ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to 
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to 
controversies to which the United States shall be a 
party; to controversies between two or more states; 
between citizens of different states; between citizens 
of the same state claiming lands under grants of 
different states, and between a state, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.” 

You notice by this clause that the United States courts 
have jurisdiction in nine subjects. 

Suppose a state should coin some money, and put it 
into circulation. A buys goods of B and offers him some 
of the coin in payment for the goods. B refuses to take 
it. A refuses to give any other money. B brings suit to 
recover his debt, and the state courts decide against B. 
He would then appeal to the United States court. This 
court would decide that the state law making the coin 
lawful money was unconstitutional, and therefore null 
and void. This would be a case arising under the Con¬ 
stitution. 

Again, suppose a man from our country goes to Eng¬ 
land, and on his return endeavors to smuggle some goods. 


94 


CIVICS FOR YOITNO AMERICANS. 


The goods are seized and kept by the government. This 
would be a case arising under the laws of the United 
States. 

Again, suppose a treaty existed between Great Brit¬ 
ain and the United States, in which the latter engaged 
to prohibit the exportation of arms to Ireland. A citizen 
of New York is detected shipping arms to Ireland. He 
is arrested and tried by the United States court, and 
punished.’* ^ This would be a case arising under a treaty 
made. 

Again, if an ambassador or any other public minister 
or consul should be sent to this country from some foreign 
country, he would not be subject to our laws, but to the 
laws of his own country. There are laws of nations, 
however, to which all countries are alike subject. If any 
judicial question affecting an ambassador, consul, or min¬ 
ister should arise, it would be brought before the United 
States court. This would be a case arising under those 
affecting ambassadors, etc. 

Again, if the United States was at war with another 
country, and a vessel of the United States captured a 
vessel at sea which was thought to belong to the enemy, 
but claimed that it did not, the United States court would 
decide the question. This would be a case arising under 
the admiralty. 


* Alden. 


THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 


95 


Again, a railroad buys some land of the United States 
and fails to pay for it. The United States can bring a 
suit against the railroad corporation, and compel the 
payment. This is necessary in order that the government 
may protect its rights. 

Two states may be having a controversy about their 
boundary lines. In order that a settlement may be had, 
one state sues the other in the United States court, where 
the question is finally settled. 

From these explanations you will have an idea of the 
authority or commission of the United States court. 

(3) In all cases afiecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall 
be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original 
jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, 
the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, 
both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and 
under such regulations as the Congress shall make/* 

By original jurisdiction is meant that in which a suit 
originates or commences. By appellate jurisdiction is 
meant that to which the decision of an inferior court 
is taken on appeal. You will notice there are only 
a few cases in which actions can be commenced in the 
Supreme Court, i.e. those that have at first to do with 
the general government. The principal business of this 


96 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


court is to review cases tnat have been tried in lower 
courts. When the Supreme Court decides a case, then it 
can go no farther. Both parties must be content. 

“ (4) The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeach- 
ment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in 
the state where the said crimes shall have been com¬ 
mitted ; but when not committed within any state, the 
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress 
may by law have directed.'’ 

No man can be convicted unless all of the jurors agree 
that he is guilty. 

It is right that a man be tried in the state where the 
crime is committed. Otherwise, a poor man in New 
Jersey might be sued by a rich man, and the suit might 
be taken to California. The accused might not be able 
to secure the attendance of his witnesses, and thus be 
unable to defend himself. 

Our forefathers were no respecters of persons. 
All men are created equal ” was their doctrine. 
And they so framed the Constitution that every 

WORD IN it is not FOR ANY PARTICULAR CLASS, BUT FOR 
ALL ALIKE. 


CHAPTER Xm. 


MISCELLANEOUS PKOYISIONS. 

When reading the history of England and other for* 
eign countries, we are made to shudder at the acts of 
some of the old rulers. Many times people have been 
accused of treason for a great variety of acts. When a 
man did anything to displease a ruler, it was a common 
thing to charge him with treason, and then convict him, 
and next, to punish him according to law. This punish¬ 
ment was often fearful. (1) The offender was dragged 
to the gallows. (2) He was hanged by the neck, but was 
cut down while alive. (3) His entrails were taken out 
and burned while he was living. (4) His head was cut 
off. (5) His body was divided into four parts. (6) These 
four parts were then given to the king to do as he saw fit 
with them. 

Our forefathers knew of all these things, and hence 
they thought best to have it understood just what treason 
against the United States is; therefore the Constitution 
says, — 


98 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


(1) Treason against the United States shall consist only 
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their 
enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person 
shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony 
of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confes¬ 
sion in open court. 

(2) The Congress shall have power to declare the pun¬ 
ishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall 
work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during 
the life of the person attainted.’' 

Sometimes men were tortured until they confessed 
they were guilty of treason. Then they were convicted 
and dealt with as described. In our country a confession 
in open court can be taken as testimony against a man, 
or there must be at least two witnesses to prove him 
guilty of treason before he can be convicted. 

Congress has made a law that a person guilty of trea¬ 
son shall be put to death by hanging. 

By corruption of blood a person is disabled from inherit¬ 
ing lands from an ancestor; nor can he either retain those 
in his possession, or transmit them by descent to his heirs. 
That is, B is convicted of and punished for treason. A, 
who is B’s father, is worth a large property. After B is 
punished by being hung, A dies. Then C and D, who 
are the children of B, cannot inherit their grandfather’s 


MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 


99 


property because their father was hanged for treason. 
Think of living in a country where anything so unjust 
is lawful! Our forefathers prevented any such innocent 
suffering in our country by adding this wise provision to 
the Constitution: No attainder of treason shall work 
corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the life of 
the person attainted/’ 

In order that each state could have full faith in each 
of the other states our forefathers provided that, — 

(1) Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to 
the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of 
every other state. And the Congress may by general 
laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, rec¬ 
ords, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 
thereof.” 

This means that each state must have full faith in each 
of the other states; then if a case has been tried in one 
state and an attempt is made to bring the same matter 
into the court of another state, the person who was sued 
may procure the record of the former trial, and that will 
put an end to the proceedings. 

(2) The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several 
states. L Of C. 


100 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


(3) A person charged in any state with treason, felony, 
or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be 
found in another state, shall on demand of the execu¬ 
tive authority of the state from which he fled, be 
delivered up, to be removed to the state having juris¬ 
diction of the crime.’* 

If it were not for this clause a person might commit 
some crime in one state, and then flee to another state, 
where he would be free. The dishonest men of our coun¬ 
try now flee to Canada. It being a foreign country, they 
cannot there be arrested by us (certain crimes excepted), 

(4) New states may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected 
within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any 
state be formed by the junction of two or more states, 
or parts of states, without the consent of the legisla¬ 
tures of the states concerned as well as of the Con¬ 
gress. 

‘^(5) The Congress shall have power to dispose of and 
make all needful rules and regulations respecting the 
territory or other property belonging to the United 
States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so 
construed as to prejudice any claims of the United 
States, or of any particular state.” 


MISCELLANEOUS PROYISIONS. 


101 


The first clause is just, as Congress should determine 
what states are to make up the government over which it 
is to have charge. 

Had not Congress any power over the territories they 
might be in the hands of lawless men in a very short time. 
In each territory there is a governor appointed by the 
President of the United States and the Senate; a legisla¬ 
ture, which is chosen by the people; and one or more 
judges, appointed by the President of the United States 
and Senate. 

Each territory has the right to choose a man as a dele¬ 
gate, who has a seat in the House of Representatives, and 
can take part in debates relating to the territory, but is 
not entitled to a vote. 

That each state may feel that it is protected against 
foreign and domestic foes, — 

(6) The United States shall guarantee to every state in 
this Union a republican form of government, and shall 
protect each of them against invasion, and on applica¬ 
tion of the legislature, or of the executive (when the 
legislature cannot be convened), against domestic vio¬ 
lence.*’ 

All of the states are here bound to help, protect, and 
defend each and every state in time of need. 


102 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


(7) The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses 
shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to 
this Constitution, or, on the application of the legis¬ 
latures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a 
convention for proposing amendments, which, in either 
case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part 
of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures 
of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions 
in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of ratification may be proposed by the Congress : pro¬ 
vided that no state, without its consent, shall be de¬ 
prived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.’’ 

This was a wise clause. Had there been no provisions 
for amendments, the Constitution would have been faulty; 
because it has been necessary to add fifteen of them, as 
you will see in a future chapter. 

I 

(8) All debts contracted and engagements entered into 
before the adoption of this Constitution shall be as 
valid against the United States under this Constitu¬ 
tion as under the Confederation.” 

Here our noble old forefathers showed their honesty 
of purpose. They might have ignored any debts of the 
Confederation by assuming that it was a government of 
the past, and therefore had nothing in common with the 



MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 


103 


present government. They were, however, too noble to 
take any such action. 

^^(9) This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and 
all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land; and the judges in every state shall 
be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or 
laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.” 

After reading this clause there can be no doubt that 
the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. 

(10) The senators and representatives before mentioned, 
and the members of the several state legislatures, and 
all executive and judicial officers, both of the United 
States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath 
or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no 
religious test shall ever be required as a qualification 
to any office or public trust under the United States.” 

There had been too much suffering, both in England 
and in this country, on account of religious persecution, 
for our forefathers to forget this clause when framing the 
Constitution. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


THE AMENDMENTS. 

You remember learning in your history of the perse¬ 
cutions to which the people of the colonies were sub¬ 
jected. It is not surprising then that when the first 
Congress met the people insisted on some amendments 
being made to the Constitution j because it was generally 
felt that the Constitution did not sufficiently protect the 
rights of the people. They wished to be secured certain 
rights beyond the possibility of being encroached upon by 
Congress. The following ten articles of amendments were 
made during the first session of the first Congress under 
the Constitution: — 


Article I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establish¬ 
ment of religion; or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or 
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to peti¬ 
tion the government for a redress of grievances. 


THE AMENDMENTS. 


105 


Article IL 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the secu¬ 
rity of a free state, the right of the people to keep and 
bear arms shall not be infringed. 

^‘Article III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any 
house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of 
war but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

^‘Article IV. 

^^The right of the people to be secure in their per¬ 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable 
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no war¬ 
rants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place 
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or 
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or in¬ 
dictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the 
land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual ser¬ 
vice in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person 
be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy 
of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 


106 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor 
shall private property be taken for public use without 
just compensation. 


Article VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury 
of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been 
committed, which district shall have been previously ascer¬ 
tained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause 
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining 
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of coun¬ 
sel for his defence. 


Article VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in contro¬ 
versy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by 
jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall 
be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United 
States than according to the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive 
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments in¬ 
flicted. 


THE AMENDMENTS. 


107 


‘^Article IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights 
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

Article X. 

‘^The powers not delegated to the United States by 
the Constitution^ nor prohibited by it to the states, are 
reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.’' 

There is no country in the world that furnishes greater 
security for personal liberty than is furnished by these 
provisions in our Constitution. 

The things that are forbidden in them have often 
taken place in other countries. Our forefathers, know¬ 
ing that human nature is the same in all ages, were de¬ 
termined they should never lawfully take place in our 
country. 

During the Civil War, you remember. President Lin¬ 
coln abolished slavery. It was necessary, however, for 
Congress to amend the Constitution, so as to sanction the 
act. Therefore, in December, 1865, the following amend- 
ment was adopted, — 

^‘Article XIII. 

(1) Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as 

a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have 


108 


CIVICS FOB YOUNG AMERICANS. 


been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

(2) Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation.” 


In 1868 another amendment was adopted which reads 
as follows,— 

“Article XIV. 


All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the 
United States and of the state wherein they reside. 
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall 
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the 
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person 
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, 
nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal 
protection of the laws.” 


Still another section was added for the purpose of 
declaring how the representatives should be apportioned 
among the states, and also to protect the freedmen. It 
reads as follows,— 

“ Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
states according to their respective numbers, counting 
the whole number of persons in each state, excluding 
Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 


THE AMENDMENTS. 


109 


election for the choice of electors for President and Vice- 
President of the United States, representatives in Con¬ 
gress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or 
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any 
of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one 
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in 
any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion 
or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall 
be reduced in the proportion which the number of such 
male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male 
citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.’* 

It was thought best to punish in some way those men 
who had once been in Congress, and at the opening of 
the Civil War, took part against the government. The 
following section was adopted for that purpose,— 

^*No person shall be a senator or representative in Con¬ 
gress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or 
hold any office, civil or military, under the United 
States, or under any state, who, having previously 
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an offi¬ 
cer of the United States, or as a member of any state 
legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any 
state, to support the Constitution of the United States, 
shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against 
iae same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 


110 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds 
of each house, remove such disability.’* 

Notice the last sentence in this clause. It shows you 
liow willing one American is to overlook the faults of 
another if he shows he is sorry for what he has done. 

Forgive, if ye wish to be forgiven.” 

In order that there should never be any question as to 
the payment of any loss to those who fought against the 
government, and also no questions as to the rights of every 
citizen, white or black, to vote. Congress adopted the fol¬ 
lowing, — 

The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment 
of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insur¬ 
rection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither 
the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any 
debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the 
loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, 
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro¬ 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article.” 

^‘Article XV. 

^^(1) The right of citizens of the United States to 


THE AI^IENDMENTS. 


Ill 


vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, 
or by any state, on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. 

(2) The Congress shall have power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation.” 

These are all the amendments that have as yet been 
added to the Constitution, excepting the XL and XIL 
The XIL is given on page 77. It was adopted in 1804 
and is a great improvement on the original clause. Look 
up the original and see if you do not think so. 

The eleventh amendment was adopted in 1798 as a 
restriction upon the judicial power. It reads as follows: 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be 
construed to extend to any suit, in law or equity, com- 
menced or prosecuted against one of the United States 
by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of 
any foreign State.” 


CHAPTER XV. 


POLITICAL PAETIES.-UNITED STATES CAPITALS. 

When the Constitution was presented to the states foj 
adoption it met with decided opposition from a large part 
of the people ^ who were opposed to conferring so much 
power upon the general government ’; and, ^ in the differ¬ 
ences in opinion between its friends and opponents origi¬ 
nated the two great political parties into which the people 
were divided during a period of about thirty years.’ The 
friends of the Constitution, ^ regarding its adoption indis¬ 
pensable to the Union, took the name of Federalists, and 
bestowed upon the other party that of Anti-Federalists, 
intimating that to oppose the adoption of the Constitution, 
was to oppose any union of the states.’ The Federal 
party embraced a large number of the ablest statesmen of 
that period, including Washington, Hamilton, Adams, 
Jay, and Marshall; while in the opposite ranks were those 
known as Anti-Federalists, or Republicans, under the 
leadership of Jefferson, George Clinton, Burr, and others. 
^In the contests of the French Revolution, the Federal¬ 
ists leaned to the side of England, the Republicans to that 


POLITICAL PAKTIES. 


113 


of France.’ The opposition of the Federalists to the war 
of 1812, the favor they extended to the Hartford Conven¬ 
tion, and other causes, contributed to their destruction, 
and in 1820 the party was disbanded. 

The two elections of Jefferson and the two of Madison 
were triumphs of the Kepublicans. The two of Monroe 
may also be regarded as triumphs of the same party, 
though party lines were almost obliterated, the first years 
of Monroe’s administration being known as Hhe era of 
good feeling.’ The nomination of John Quincy Adams 
was supported by a union of Republicans with most of the 
old Federalists. The presidential contest of 1828, ^the 
most bitter in American history,’ was largely of a per¬ 
sonal character. The candidates were Adams and Jack- 
son, the latter succeeding. ^ The Jackson party being, for 
the most part, the old Republican party, took the name 
of Democrats, while their opponents assumed the name of 
Whigs.’ The former, during Jackson’s first term, took 
ground against the re-chartering of the United States 
Bank, and afterward against a high, or ^ protective tariff.’ 
The Whigs favored these measures. ^ The election of 
Yan Buren was a continuation of Jackson’s policy;’ that 
of Harrison was a triumph of the Whigs. 

^Hn the presidential contest of 1844, the Democratic 
party favored Hhe annexation of Texas,’ as also Hhe 
claim to Oregon as far north as 54 degrees 40 minutes. 
Their rallying cry was 54-40, or fight.’ They elected 


114 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


James K. Polk over Henry Clay, the candidate of the 
Whigs. In the contest of 1848, a third party, composed 
mostly of northern men, who were ^ opposed to the exten¬ 
sion of slavery into the territory of the United States,’ 
and known as the Free Soil Party, nominated Martin Yan 
Buren. General Taylor, the Whig candidate, was elected. 
In the contest of 1852, the candidate of the Democrats 
was Franklin Pierce ; that of the Whigs was General 
Winfield Scott; Mr. Pierce was elected.” — Anderson s 
U. S. History. 

Before the next election the Whig party ceased to exist, 
and two new parties came into being, the Republican and 
the American; making altogether three parties. The 
American party wanted none but native-born citizens to 
hold political ofiices, and its members also favored a longer 
residence in the United States on the part of persons of 
foreign birth, before allowing them to be naturalized. 
Buchanan, who was elected, was the candidate of the 
Democratic party. 

At the next election there were four candidates. The 
slavery question was the all-important one. The Demo¬ 
cratic party was still the strongest one, but its members 
became divided on the slavery question. The northern 
Democrats nominated Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois; 
and the southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckin¬ 
ridge, of Kentucky. The northern Democrats believed in 
letting all new states say whether they were to be admitted 


POLITICAL PARTIES. 


115 


as slave states or not; while the southern portion of the 
party claimed that neither Congress nor the people of a 
territory, who desired to be admitted as a state, had the 
right to prohibit slavery in any territory. 

The American party nominated John Bell, of Tennes¬ 
see ; their platform was The Union, the Constitution, 
and the Enforcement of the Laws.’’ 

The Republican party was opposed to slavery and de¬ 
sired to exclude it from the territories at any cost. Mr. 
Lincoln, who was elected, was the candidate of the 
Republicans. 

During Lincoln’s administration the Civil AYar occurred. 
AYhen Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson became 
President. At the close of Johnson’s term the contest 
mainly turned upon the right of Congress to establish 
laws for the admission of the Southern States to the 
Union. The Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour, 
ex-governor of New York, and the Republicans nomi¬ 
nated General U. S. Grant, who was elected. 

At the next election there was a new party formed, 
known as the Liberal Republican Party, which nominated 
Horace Greeley, of New York. These were men who 
were opposed to Grant’s administration. The Democrats 
had no candidate, but indorsed Mr. Greeley. General 
Grant was re-elected. The next three Presidents, R. B. 
Hayes, James A. Garfield, and Chester A. Arthur, were 
Republicans. 


116 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


In 1884 the Republicans nominated James G. Blaine, 
of Maine; the Democrats, Grover Cleveland of New York; 
the People’s Party, Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachu¬ 
setts; the Prohibition Party, John P. St. John, of Kan¬ 
sas. Mr. Cleveland was elected. In 1888 Benjamin Har¬ 
rison, of Indiana, was nominated by the Republicans; Mr. 
Cleveland being re-nominated by the Democrats. Clinton 
B. Fisk, of New Jersey, was nominated by the Prohi¬ 
bition party. Mr. Harrison was elected. In 1892 Mr. 
Cleveland and Mr. Harrison were re-nominated. James 
B, Weaver was nominated by the People’s party, which, 
among other things, asked that mints should be free to 
coin all silver. The Democrats elected Mr. Cleveland. 
In 1896 Wm. J. Bryan, of Nebraska, was nominated by 
the Democrats, they declaring for free coinage of silver 
at the ratio of 16 to 1. The Republicans nominated 
Wm.McKinley, of Ohio, and declared forthe gold stan¬ 
dard. Mr. McKinley was elected. These men were re¬ 
nominated in 1900. Mr. McKinley was again elected. At 
his death Theodore Roosevelt, of New York, became 
President. In 1904 Mr. Roosevelt, Republican, and Al¬ 
ton B. Parker of New York, Democrat, were the candi¬ 
dates. Mr. Roosevelt was elected. At this election the 
Prohibition party nominated Silas C. Swallow; the Pop¬ 
ulist, Thomas E. Watson; the Socialist, Eugene V. Debs^ 


UNITED STATES CAPITALS. 117 

Perhaps the following facts will be of interest to 
you: — 

^^Philadelphia was the first capital of the United 
States, Congress being in session in that city when the 
Independence of the states was declared. A little more 
than five months after that event, while the British 
forces were advancing through New Jersey towards the 
Delaware River, Congress adjourned to Baltimore (Decem¬ 
ber, 1776), but returned to Philadelphia less than three 
months later (March, 1777). On the approach, by Chesa¬ 
peake Bay, of the British army under Howe, Congress 
adjourned at first to Lancaster, Pa. (Sept. 27th to 30th, 
1777), and then to York, Pa. (Sept. 30th); but after the 
British evacuated Philadelphia, Congress returned to that 
city (July, 1778), which city continued to be the capital till 
June, 1783, when Congress adjourned to Princeton, N. J. 
(June 30), and, in November of the same year, to Annap¬ 
olis, Md. The next session was opened at Trenton, N. J. 
(Nov. 30,1784), but in January, 1785, Congress adjourned 
to New York. In 1790, the seat of government was 
removed to Philadelphia, and in 1800, to Washington 
City, where it has remained ever since/’ 


CHAPTER XVI. 


CONCLUSION. 

We said we hoped to make you understand why our 
form of government is the best in the world. Have we 
not done so ? We have no Ivan who can murder his sub¬ 
jects and go unpunished. We have no King John who 
can imprison us at his will or murder innocent little boys. 
We have no Queen Elizabeth to dictate how we shall wor¬ 
ship the ever-living and true God. None such are found 
in this glorious republic in which the supreme power is 
vested in the people. We have a government so organ¬ 
ized that its rulers cannot, for any length of time, materi¬ 
ally err. We have a Constitution which is acknowledged 
by all to be a masterpiece. With the most of this Con¬ 
stitution you are now familiar. In the last pages of any 
good United States History are to be found all of the 
clauses of the Constitution in regular order. These, it 
is hoped, you will carefully read, as you can now do so 
understandingly. 

And now, my young friends, we desire to impress upon 
you this solemn truth. The good or evil of this model 


CONCLUSION. 


119 


COUNTRY IS IN TOUR HANDS. Only a few years must 
pass before all who are now occupying the positions of 
trust and honor will be no more, and you are to fill their 
places. The boys of to-day are to be the men of twenty 
years hence. Are you going to be ready ? Will you see 
to it that only honest, upright men are placed in office ? 
If so, you will hold the Union where you find it, the best 
government in the world. 

Be always true to God, your country, your neighbor, 
and yourself. You will thus ^^be prepared for death, 
and life or death will thereby be the sweeter.’’ 

Can you not now appreciate our national hymn as you 
never have before ? 

1. My country, ’tis of thee, 

Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sing : 

Land where my fathers died. 

Land of the pilgrims’ pride. 

From every mountain side. 

Let freedom ring! 

2. My native country, thee — 

Land of the noble free — 

Thy name I love : 

I love thy rocks and rills, 

Thy woods and templed hills; 

My heart with rapture thrills 
Like that above. 

S. F. Smith. 


3. Let music swell the breeze. 

And ring from all the trees 

Sweet freedom’s song 1 
Let mortal tongues awake ; 

Let all that breathe partake; 
Let ocks their silence break, — 
The sound prolong I 

4. Our fathers’ God, to thee, 
Author of liberty. 

To thee we sing ; 

Long may our land be bright 
With freedom’s holy light; 
Protect us by thy might. 

Great God, our King I 


PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS 


NO. 

PRESIDENTS 

INAUGURATED 

VICE-PRESIDENTS 

1. 

George Washiagton 

April 30, 1789 

John Adams 

2. 

John Adams 

March 4, 1797 

Thomas Jefferson 

3. 

Thomas Jefferson 

March 4, 1801 

^ Aaron Burr 
( George Clinton 

4. 

James Madison 

March 4, 1809 

j George Clinton 
( Flbridge Gerry 

5. 

James Monroe 

March 4, 1817 

Daniel D. Tompkins 

6. 

John Q. Adams 

March 4, 1825 

John C. Calhoun 

7. 

Andrew Jackson 

March 4, 1829 

j John C. Calhoun 
( Martin Van Buren 

8. 

Martin Van Buren 

March 4, 1837 ' 

Richard M. Johnson 

9. 

Wm. H. Harrison 

March 4, 1841 

John Tyler 

10. 

John Tyler 

April 6, 1841 


11. 

James K. Polk 

March 4, 1845 

George M. Dallas 

12. 

Zachary Taylor 

March 5, 1849 

Millard Fillmore 

13. 

Millard Fillmore 

July 10, 1850 


14. 

Franklin Pierce 

March 4, 1853 

Wm. R. King 

15. 

James Buchanan 

March 4, 1857 

John C. Breckinridge 

16. 

Abraham Lincoln 

March 4, 1861 

j Hannibal Hamlin 

1 Andrew Johnson 

17. 

Andrew Johnson 

April 15, 1865 


18. 

Ulysses S. Grant 

March 4, 1869 

j Schuyler Colfax 
( Henry Wilson 

19. 

Rutherford B. Hayes 

March 5, 1877 

Wm. A. Wheeler 

20. 

James A. Garfield 

March 4, 1881 

Chester A. Arthur 

21. 

Chester A. Arthur 

Sept. 20, 1881 


22. 

Grover Cleveland 

March 4, 1885 

Thomas A. Hendricks 

23. 

Benjamin Harrison 

March 4, 1889 

Levi P. Morton 

24. 

Grover Cleveland 

March 4, 1893 

Adlai F. Stevenson 

25. 

William McKinley 

March 4, 1897 

Garret A. Hobart 

26. 

William McKinley 

March 4, 1901 

Theodore Roosevelt 

27. 

Theodore Roosevelt 

Sept. 14,1901 


28. 

Theodore Roosevelt 

March 4, 1905 

Chas. W. Fairbanks 


[ 120 ] 


APPENDIX 


CONTAINING 


EXPLANATIONS OF STATE, COUNTY, CITY, TOWN 
AND TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENTS 


ALSO 


CHAPTERS CONTAINING SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS 
AMONG WHICH ARE MANY FACTS NOT 
FOUND IN THE TEXT 


In preparing- the folio-wing pages the writer has been materially 
assisted by borrowing, “with thanks,” from various authors. 

Chicago, January 6, 1905. 


H. G. P. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


INTRODUCTION. 

In 1775, the Continental congress was asked to advise the 
people of Massachusetts. The citizens of that state had imprisoned 
their governor and assumed the managennent of that colony. 
Congress advised the formation of a temporary government until 
the king should restore the old charter. This was done, and by 
the spring of 1776 not only Massachusetts but all of the thirteen 
colonies had formed a similar government. 

Reconciliation being impossible, the colonies took the final 
step by passing the Declaration of Independence. Then the 
states, that had not already done so, adopted constitutions and 
organized permanent governments. All of the other states, except 
Texas, were formed out of the territory already owned or acquired 
by the United States, and admitted into the union by acts of 
Congress. (See page 100). 

From history and geography it is learned that our country 
at first extended only from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi 
river, and that it now reaches from ocean to ocean. This addi¬ 
tional area was not all acquired at one time nor in the same way. 
Prosperous farmers often buy tracts of land from their neighbors, 
to give a farm to a son, or to get another right of way to another 
public highway; so our country has, for various reasons and at 


INTRODUCTION. 


123 


different times, purchased land from other countries 'which claimed 
ownership by right of discovery and exploration. Another way 
by which territory has been acquired is by conquest, that means 
territory conquered and occupied while at war with other nations, 
and is retained as a part of the United States by terms of settle¬ 
ment at the close of the war. Still another way is for a country 
that is independent to ask admission as a state or organization as 
a territory, and to have the re(5[uest granted, thus becoming a 
part of the United States. (Examples of the last mentioned are 
Texas and the Hawaiian Islands). 

Any tract of land, however obtained, that is to be permanently 
a part of the United States, is organized into one or miore terri¬ 
tories. The people of the territory are protected by the nation 
and enjoy perfect liberty and freedom, and have all the ad¬ 
vantages of commerce, education, etc., that are enjoyed by the 
states, but have no voice in making laws of the United States, or 
in electing the President, or even their own governor and judges. 
(See page 101.) Territories, therefore, always desire to be ad¬ 
mitted into the Union as a state as soon as possible, and they early 
instruct their delegates to apply for adlnission. 

Before any territory is admitted into the Union as a state 
its citizens are instructed by an act of Congress to draft a consti¬ 
tution which, in its general features, is similar to that of the 
United States, and contains nothing that is contrary to it. The 
republican form of government guaranteed to every state, and the 
right of the people as specified in the national constitution, are 
thus made doubly secure. When the constitution is ratified, the 
citizens are authorized to elect state ofiicers, judges of the state 
courts, representatives in Congress, etc. After all this has been 


124 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


done and the President properly notified, it is his duty to issue a 
proclamation announcing that all the requiremients for admission 
have been complied with and that the territory now becomes one 
of the states of this great Union. 


CHAPTER XYIII. 

SUBDIVISIONS. 

In no great country in the world has the individual, man, 
woman, or child, as much influence in the control of governmental 
affairs, both local and general, as in the United States. This is 
due to the fact that local government is entirely under the super¬ 
vision of the states. That places directly on its citizens the 
responsibility which has been still more localized by the states 
being divided and subdivided into various divisions for Federal 
and State purposes. Congressional, state representatives, state judi¬ 
cial, counties, commissioners, districts, townships, school districts, 
road districts, and sections are the principal divisions. 

The largest of these divisions and the one that is purely federal 
is the Congressional. They are mude on the basis of population 
and are subject to change every ten years. (See page 171). They 
are composed of counties, that is a county is not part in one 
district and part in another to equalize the two; if, however, a 
county contains a large city like New York or Chicago, it is 
divided into several districts. 

Then there are the districts for representation in the state 
legislature, representative and senatorial. In many states these 



COUNTY. 


125 


are the same with more representatives than senators per district. 
These are based on population. In many states the county is 
made the basis of representation in the House of Eepresentatives, 
that is, each county is to have at least one representative and asi 
many more as its population entitles it to. In the state of Con¬ 
necticut the township is the basis and each township has at least 
one representative in the Lower House. 

The next largest of these divisions is the state judicial. They 
are based on the population, also, and are likewise divided by 
counties. There may be several judges in one county or several 
counties in one district. 


CHAPTEE XIX. 

COUNTY. 

The county is the next division and is a very important one. 
It is the center around which all of the large ones are built and 
likewise the-center for the supervision of the judicial and repre¬ 
sentative districts as well as for the administration of the smaller 
divisions into which it is divided. The county is the unit of the 
local government. It has a county seat which bears the same 
relation to it that the capital does to the state or the United 
States. The court house and the jail are located there. (In fact 
it is the capital of the county.) 

> The county is made by the state and is subject to it. It 
has no sovereign powers, that is, it cannot make laws for itself: 



126 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


They are made for it by the legislature of the state. It is left 
to the county, however, to enforce the laws. The state places 
the proper limitations within the power of the county, then if 
its officials are not carefully selected and are lax in the manage¬ 
ment of affairs, it is the fault of the citizens of the county and 
they, in turn, are the ones that suffer for it, by having large 
sums of their taxes squandered or illy spent and their schools, 
roads, and other institutions greatly impaired on that account. 
The officials are elected by the citizens of the county and are not 
responsible to any state official, only in so much as their respective 
duties aid in the general supervision of the state. 

The county is not self governing because it does not make 
its own laws directly, but is self administrative because it selects 
its own officers and enforces the laws made for it. The state has 
taken the precaution to safeguard the rights of tlie citizens of the 
county just as the United States has the citizens of the states. 
(See pages 53 and 73). 

All of the states are divided into counties except Louisianaj 
which has similar divisions called parishes. The county is a very 
old organization^ it is so called because these divisions were 
originally ruled over by counts in England. It is not made on 
the basis of population, nor is it of any certain fixed size. It is 
created by the state or the territorial legislatures. Wlien boun¬ 
daries are once made they seldom are changed because the records 
of deeds, mortgages, transfers, contracts, deaths, births> marriages, 
etc., are made matters of record in the county, and it is a very 
difficult thing to transfer the records to another county and correct 
the many oustanding documents that have been copied, as a mat¬ 
ter of record. 


TOWNSHIPS. 


127 


The county has the power to create new or change old pub¬ 
lic highways; to build bridges; to lay drainage systems; to build 
a court house, jail, home for the poor; to manage a county farm; 
to grant franchises to corporations, and many other duties that are 
not necessary to name here. It is plainly to be seen that the county 
is a very important division in the administration of our govern¬ 
mental affairs. 

The county is divided into as many districts as there are 
members in the board of commissioners. Each district is repre¬ 
sented by a member on the board; he must be a resident of that 
district, but is usually selected by a vote of the entire county. 


CHAPTEE XX. 

TOWNSHIPS. 

This division is a very important one in our administrative 
affairs and is considered by many good authorities of more im¬ 
portance than the county. 

In early times, when the people of G-ermany, Scandinavia, and 
England began to establish homes instead of wandering from 
place to place, a clan or tribe would settle together and form 
a little village. To protect themselves, they would surround their 
village and fields with a stockade called a tun (toon). In Eng¬ 
land, particularly, this name came to be applied to the land within 
the enclosure. Thus has come to us the name which in some 
states is called town, in others township. 



128 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


In your histories you have read and talked much about the 
New England town meeting. The people met in those meetings 
to elect their officers, to discuss public questions, to make rules or 
laws for the townsliips, levy the taxes for the local government, 
and to discuss any special questions pertaining to its town (or town¬ 
ship). You found that those meetings, and the township 
divisions, became a very important factor in the government of 
New England. 

Very much in the same way that the ^Tun’^ was organized in 
Germany, Scandinavia and England was it reproduced by the 
people who settled along the shores and on the banks of the rivers 
of New England. These early settlers, Puritans, were very demo¬ 
cratic in spirit, and much like their forefathers across the sea, were 
compelled to cluster their homes about a common center, which 
in New England was the church, and to fortify this to protect 
themselves against the Indians. As the colony grew and new set¬ 
tlers came from England, a new colony was established near by and 
the Indian frontier pushed a little farther back. As time went on 
these townships were united, particularly for defense against the 
Indians, into larger divisions that became counties, and later the 
counties were grouped together, forming for the first time the 
organization of a united colony that after 1776 was to become a 
state. When the county was organized it assunxed authority over 
the questions that were of general interest to the townships, and 
the state of questions that were of general interest to the coun¬ 
ties and townships (similar to a school found on page 43). 
The townships, however, retained their individuality and the powers 
of local government. They are even to this day the centers of 
local administration and the units of political life in New England. 


TOWNSHIPS. 


129 


Likewise you studied with equal interest the local governments 
of Virginia, and the other southern colonies, which you found to 
be different from the town meetings of New England. There were 
several reasons for this; first of all, these people were not Puri¬ 
tans; second, they did not come over from England as families (or 
even communities), as was the case in New England; nor did the 
vast majority of the settlers come with the expectation of estab¬ 
lishing permanent homes in the grand old colony of Virginia; the 
Indians in this section were very much more peaceable than in 
New England, so the colonists were not compelled to form such 
close bonds of union to protect themselves; the clim-ate was too 
warm along the coast for the English people to cultivate the soil, 
so slavery soon gained a foothold in the colonies. The soil was 
very productive and the products grown were those that England 
needed, thus the colonists found a ready market for everything 
they were able to raise. 

Wlien these colonists came to make a settlement they would 
sail up a river and somewhere along its banks, select a site for a 
colony, each member taking a plat of land by the river’s edge. As 
these planters prospered from: year to year they would extend 
their plantations back father from the river, preparing a little 
more of the land for cultivation at each new planting. Thus grew 
up in these states many large plantations. The owner would 
select a favorable site on his plantation to erect a mansion, about 
which would be clustered a number of small cottages, the homes 
of the few white people and the many slaves that cultivated his 
fields. These plantations were so large that the mansions were 
oftentimes miles apart. When local divisions were organized 


180 CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 

they were made very much larger than those of New England and 
each one contained a number of these plantations. These divi¬ 
sions took the names of counties. 

The affairs of a county are managed by a Board of Commis¬ 
sioners, who at first were appointed by the Governor, but after the 
board was once organized it managed, somehow, to fill its own 
vacancies. This was very different from the New England town¬ 
ship meetings. 

These boards were controlled very largely by the owners of 
these plantations, so the government of the county was rather an 
aristrocratic than a democratic form. Owing to these large plam 
tations the county did not need the detail of local government that 
was necessary in the divisions of New England. The organization 
of schools, the building of highways, and so many other necessary 
things in New England were not so nearly important in the 
southern colonies, which were so thinly populated and where the 
villages were so few. 

From this discussion it is plain to be seen that the rights 
and liberties of the people were much safer in New England 
under the democratic township S 3 ^tem than under the aristocratic 
county system as conducted in Virginia. No one realized this more 
than did the greatest of all democrats, Thomas Jefferson, for he 
said: ^Those wards, called townships in New England, are the 
vital principles of their governments and have proved themselves 
the wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the per¬ 
fect exercise of self-government, and for its preservation. * * * 

'As Cato then concluded every speech with the words ^Carthage must 
be destroyed,^ so do I, every opinion with the injunction, ‘divide 
the counties into wards (townships).^ 


TOWNSHIPS. 


131 


CHAPTER XXL 

TOWNSHIPS, CONTINUED. 

By glancing at the map of any of the original states, it will 
be noticed that the boundaries of the ’ townships and counties 
are very irregular, and that some townships are quite small, con¬ 
taining as few as five square miles, while others are very much 
larger. The reason of this is that there was no uniform system of 
surveying, platting, and recording of land grants. A man would 
select a piece of land that he desired, have it surveyed, many times 
the survey would extend around swamps and marshes, thus making 
the plat a very irregular one. 

When settlers began to cross over the mountains into Kentucky 
and Tennessee surveys similar to the one above were made. They 
marked these plats by ^fi)lazing’^ the trees, that is they would 
chop notches in the trees or cut off the bark. A plat of this survey 
would be recorded in the state land office. When the people actually 
began to settle on these plats they found some pieces of land had 
been recorded as many as five or six times. In Kentucky, espe¬ 
cially, the government was annoyed very much by the difficulties 
arising over the conflicting claims of the land grants. In order to 
avoid a repetition of these difficulties. Congress passed in 1785 a 
land ordinance which with some slight modifications has become 
our present simple and most excellent system of surveying and 
platting of public lands. 

Under this new system the government surveyed and platted 
all public lands before they were opened to settlemient. By this act 
Congress made a regular township, called Congressional, six miles 
square. Whenever a new territory was to be surveyed the govern- 


182 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


ment would establish, a base line running east and west through 
it, and likewise a meridian line north and south. (See diagram.) 
Every six miles north and south 
of the base line other lines were 
run parallel to it, and likewise 
similar lines were run at the 
same distance east and west of 
the prime meridian. These lines 
divided the territory into con-^ 
gressional townships, except the 
fractional areas along its border. 

These fractional parts were sur¬ 
veyed likewise, and not being six 
miles square were called Frac¬ 
tional townships. Since the far- 


b 


B 

A B is a meridian line. C D is a base 


ther north you go the narrower e f is a correction une. 

^ The distance is proportionally much 

the earth becomes, it is neces- g"reater between the base line and the cor- 
sary if the survey runs a long rection line than is shown in diagram. 

distance north of the base line, to take a line parallel to it as a 
correction line and start anew. The base line is so located in a 
territory that not more than one correction line is ever necessary. 


Section .—By this same ordinance the township was divided 
into sections, each a mile square, tlius making thirty-six to the 
township. Each section was subdivided into four quarters and 
each quarter was re-subdivided into quarters. Since a quarter sec¬ 
tion contains one hundred and sixty acres, one-fourth of a quar¬ 
ter section or forty acres was the smallest plat of land that a 
settler could enter. 

!By this system it was very easy for a settler to locate his claim 





























TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY. 


133 


and with very little expense have the boundaries made; and any 
plat of land large or small could be easily located. 

The first of the townships north of the base line are called 
number one north; the second row number two north; the third, 
three north, etc. The first row south, number one south, etc. 
Next the first row of townships east of the meridian line was 
range one east; second row, range two east; third row, three east; 
etc. The first row west, range one west, etc. 


CHAPTEK XXII. 

TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY. 

In the previous chapters two distinct forms of local govern¬ 
ment have been observed, the township system in the northern 
states and the county in the southern. As the people began to 
move westward and form new territories, they took with them the 
customs of their home states, and as a result three systems are now 
to be found in the United States,—the township, county, and the 
combination of county and township systems. 

This mixed system is a compromise between the township 
and county, in which the county has less influence than in the 
south and the township less than in New England. While the 
county may be considered in all these states the unit, it has under¬ 
gone many changes. All the officers are elective and for a short 
term, and their powers are rather closely restricted by the laws 
of the state. The township has remained a vigorous organization, 
caring for nearly all of the local questions and holding a restraint 



134 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


upon the county. The states that have this system are on the 
border line between the north and south, viz.: Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, etc. 

Illinois furnishes a good, example of these two systems. The 
southern part was settled by people from Virginia and Kentucky. 
They established the county system with this difference that all 
officers were elective. The northern portion was settled by people 
(from the north) who were accustomed to the township system. 
When the first constitution was made a large part of the popula¬ 
tion was in the southern portion of the state, so the county system 
was adopted. The prohibition of slavery in Illinois by the Ordinance 
of 1787 caused fewer people to come from the south to this state 
than fromi the north. The northern portion soon grew in popula¬ 
tion to exceed the south. The northern settlers did not find the 
county system satisfactory and opposition soon became quite strong 
between the north and south, resulting in a new constitution for* 
the state in 1848. A provision in this constitution gave the citizens 
of the county local option concerning the question of township 
governments, that is, if the majority of the voters in the county 
should vote to organize townships they would then be organized. 
The northern counties immediately organized township govern¬ 
ments and held their town-meetings. The system has gradually 
grown until over four-fifths of the counties in Illinois have estab¬ 
lished township governments. 


TOWNS AND CITIES. 


135 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

TOWXS AND CITIES. 

Good harbors along the shores, shallow places fording rivers, 
rapids famishing water power, many mines of various ores, fishing 
and commerce along the lakes, railway stations in the agricultural 
districts, and other things that require many men to work together 
in one place, have caused a great number of villages to spring up 
over the Enited States, particularly in the northern part. Where 
people build their homes so closely together and so many of them, 
there are things of interest to them that the farming country does 
not need. For an economical system of local government it has 
been found necessary to give them a separate system of govern¬ 
ment. In fact a town or city government is a modification of a 
township govemmient to meet their needs. Some of the things of 
special interest to the town and city are fire departments, water 
supply and sewerage systems, lighting of streets, a police force to 
guard persons and property, many more and better roads or streets, 
sidewalks, school buildings, hospitals, public parks, and, especially 
in the larger cities, street railways and other things which you 
will be able to think of. 

Some of these towns and villages have grown to be great 
cities: Xew York, from an Indian fur-trading center and fishing 
village, and Chicago from a little portage fort have grown until 
they rival the world as commercial and manufacturing centers. 
The growth in population, numberless varieties of manufacturing 
establishments, immense wholesale and retail stores, great railway 
systems, with their immense store houses, etc., have caused such 


136 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


a great modification of these township governments that they are 
no longer recognized and there has grown up a distinctive and 
separate form of city and town governments. Whai is true of 
New York and Chicago is likewise true with the hundreds of other 
cities in the United States. The variety of town and city govern¬ 
ment is as great, at least, as there are states and even greater, for 
the cities in one state may differ very materially from each other 
on account of interests, industries, and the traditions brought there 
with the first settlers. 


CHAPTER XXrV. 

STATE GOVERNMENT. 

State ,—We shall now attempt to study the state, county, 
township, city and town governments with the officers and their 
respective duties. As a matter of fact, the states exhibit compara¬ 
tively few differences in the general character of their constitutions, 
governments and laws,but in the details the variations are numerous 
and the dissimilarities increase as we begin to compare the thirteen 
original states with the newer ones that have been admitted into 
the Union. 

These variations are due to the differences of climate, occu¬ 
pations, nationalities and the methods of transportations, etc. 
The laws of a state in which the principal occupation is agriculture 
will differ from those in which the leading industry is mining, 
and a state containing many large manufacuring cities will differ 
materially from both of these. The states along the coast, with 
their citizens interested in marine commerce, and large cities as 



STATE GOVERNMENT. 


137 


terminals of railroads, will have many laws peculiar to themselves. 
The cotton, sugar and tobacco-growing states have many laws in 
the statutes that are not to be found on the books of their northern 
brothers, but in their places are other laws peculiar to the needs. 

The arid states in the mountain sections where the soil is made 
fertile by irrigation have on their statutes many laws that are not 
to be found anywhere else. 

Legislative Department ,—The legislative department in all 
the states is composed of two houses, the Senate and House of 
Representatives; in six states the latter is called ^‘^The Assembly 
in three the ^^House of Delegates.^’ 

Senate .—The number of senators varies from fifteen in Nevada 
to sixty-three in Mnnesota. The average is about thirty. In over 
half of the states the length of term is four years, in New Jersey 
three years, in Mkssachusetts and Rhode Island one year, in the 
rest two years. Sixteen states have the same length of term 
for both Houses. In most of the states the senators are not elected 
at the sanue time, so the Senate is a continuous body, like the 
iTnited States Senate. (See page 44.) As a rule, there are quili- 
fieations covering age, residence and citizenship. 

House of Representatives .—The House is a very much larger 
body than the Senate. Its membership averages about three times 
that of the Senate, Nevada having the fewest (30), New Hamp¬ 
shire the largest (398). The length of term varies fromi one year 
in four of the original states, to four years in Louisiana and Missis¬ 
sippi, while in all the rest the term is two years. The qualifica¬ 
tions of a member are much the same as those of the Upper House, 
except that the age limit is lower and the period of residence shorter. 
In practically all of the states the senators and representatives 


138 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


are elected from districts equal in number to the members of the 
respective houses (see page 137). Illinois has the same number of 
districts for each as many as it has senators. There are three 
representatives per district, and a provision is mlade for minority 
representation, that is, each party nominates three candidates (or 
can nominate three) and the voters have a right to cast three votes. 
They may cast one vote for each of three candidates, or one and a 
half for each two, or three votes for one. Under this arrangement 
is it possible for the minority party to elect a member from each 
district. 

Sessions of the Legislature .—^In those states that elect mem¬ 
bers annually (also in South Carolina and Georgia.) the legislatures 
meet annually, in all the others bi-annually. In nearly all of the 
states when making the constitution the people thought it wise 
to limjit the length of the session of the legislature. In three 
states it is limited to forty days, Pennsylvania to one hundred and 
fifty, in sixteen of the states there is no limit, and in most of the 
rest it is sixty days. Special sessions may be called by the governor 
or upon the request of a certain number of members^ which num¬ 
ber varies in different states. 

The salaries vary from one dollar a day and eight cents mileage 
in Ehode Island to fifteen hundred dollars per year and ten cents a 
mile in ISTew York. The regulations are similar to those of the 
United States: (1) A quorum, which is a majority in each house in 
all but a very few of the states. (2) Freedom of speech in the 
legislative halls. (3) Expulsion of a member by a two-thirds vote. 
’(4) Exemlption from arrest during a session of the legislature. 
'(5)^ Pegulations regarding adjournment of a session. (6) The 
keeping of journals and publishing the records from time to 


STATE GOVERNMENT. 


139 


time. (7) Eegulations regarding compensation. (8) Eestric- 
tions as to holding other offices by the members of the legislature. 

Special Duties of Each House .—The Senate tries all impeach¬ 
ments. In Hew York the Senate and Court of Appeals conjointly 
try impeachment of all officers; in Hebraska the Senate and Su¬ 
preme Court try impeachments. In Vermont the Senate can pro¬ 
pose amendments to the Constitution. In many of the states the 
regular appointments made by the governor must be approved by 
the Senate. 

The House of Eepresentatives has the sole power of impeach- 
nrent. In Connecticut the Lower House may propose amendments 
to the constitution. 

Executive .—The principal officers of the executive department 
are Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer or 
Comptroller, Attorney-General, Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion (in some states called school commissioner), State Engineer, 
State Surveyor, and Superintendent of Public Works. The chief 
-executive officer is the Governor; he is elected directly by the people 
for a term of from one to four years. In two states, Massachusetts 
and Ehode Island, the governor is elected for one year; in two 
states. Hew York and Hew Jersey, for three years; in the remain¬ 
ing states about equally divided between two and four years. The 
salary of the governor varies from one thousand dollars a year 
in Michigan to ten thousand a year in Hew York and Pennsylvania. 

Duties of the Governor .— (1) It is the duty of the Governor to 
enforce the laws of the state and when called upon to assist in the 
execution of them in any of the local divisions; also to assist the 
IJkiited States government if called upon. (2) It is his duty to 


140 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


send a message to the legislature at the beginning of each session, 
stating the condition of the different departments of the state gov¬ 
ernment, together with their needs, and a recommendation of such 
new laws and revision of old ones as in his judgment should be 
enacted. (3) He is the commander-in-chief of the state militia 
and can call out these troops whenever, in his judgment, the pro¬ 
tection of the citizens or their property is needed, whether it be to 
aid the sheriff of the county or the President of the ITiiited States. 
(4) In all states the Governor has the power to pardon criminals, 
to grant reprieves, etc. In Vermont, however, he has not the 
power to pardon a murderer, that is left to the legislature, (o) In 
all the states except Ehodes Island, Delaware, Ohio and North 
Carolina, the Governor has the power to veto all acts passed by the 
legislature. Although in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and 
Indiana, only a majority of each house is required to pass a bill 
over the Governor’s veto; in all the other states two-thirds is re¬ 
quired. In about half of the states the Governor has the power 
to veto any item or items in a bill for the appropriation of any pub¬ 
lic money, but at the same time approving the balance of the bill. 
This is considered by many to be a very important safeguard, be¬ 
cause in cases where the Governor must approve all or veto all, it 
is possible for some ill-advised appropriations to be attached to the 
absolutely necessary ones and put into the same bill, so that the 
Governor is compelled to approve the bad with the good or no 
money will be appropriated for state purposes. (6) In many 
states the Governor has the power to appoint many state Officers, 
in some states with the consent of usually the senate, in others with¬ 
out. He usually has power to fill all vacancies, and generally has 
supervision, if not control, of all the state boards and officials. He 


STATK GOVERNMENT. 


141 


has power in some states to remove from oflSce, in others to prefer 
charges and bring them before the legislature. 

These are the general duties of the governors of the several 
states. 

Lieutenant-Governor. —About tw^)-thirds of the states have 
Lieutenant-Governors, whO’ in case of death or disability of the 
Governors, succeed them in office. The Lieutenant-Governor is 
always president of the Senate. 

Secretary of State .—Each state has a Secretary. In most of 
the states he is elected by the people, but in some by the legislature. 
He has charge of the state seal and keeps a record of the proceed¬ 
ings of the legislature and the other departments of the state. He 
has charge of the election returns and in general acts as a clerk 
for the state. 

Treasurer, or Comptroller. —Each state has a Treasurer, or 
Comptroller, who has charge of all the fundfe of the state, paying 
them out at the order of the legislature or the state officials 
authorized to draw upon the treasury. It is his duty to collect all 
funds due the state and to report the financial condition of the state 
to the Governor, or to the legislature at the beginning of its session. 
He is always under heavy bond for the faithful performance of 
his duty. 

Attorney-General. —Most of the states have Attorney-Generals, 
who are the legal advisors of the legislature, the Governor and the 
other state officials. Whenever the state has business in any court, 
the Attorney-General or his assistants represent it. The volume of 
business in a state is quite large and in some cases the Attorney- 
General has many assistants. It is his duty to prosecute all persons 


142 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


or corporations that violate the state law, whenever he is in posses¬ 
sion of such evidence. It is necessary that he be a man of much 
experience and thoroughly acquainted with all phases of the law. 

Superintendent .—The Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
or School Commissioner, is a very important officer. He has super¬ 
vision of all classes of public schools, issuing of licenses by the state, 
and in some states courses of study, text-books, levying of money 
for school purposes; he attends to all other duties and important 
questions concerning public schools. Prom this it will be observed 
that he needs to be a broad-minded, well-educated man, and like¬ 
wise thoroughly familiar with the many important problems con¬ 
nected with a school system of a great state. In many of the 
states he is assisted in his duties by a state board of education. 

The State Engineer, Surveyor and Superintendent of Public 
Works have the various duties that their names imply. 

Judicial .—It is impossible to describe a system of courts that 
apply to all the states; the courts tend, however, to approach a 
certain type. There is a Supreme Court in every state, the judges 
of which represent the entire state. It has jurisdiction over all 
cases tried in the lower courts, and has original jurisdiction in a 
very few cases. Its decisions are final on all points or cases con¬ 
nected with the state laws, but cases can be appealed to the United 
States courts if it contains any points over which they have juris¬ 
diction. (For these cases see page 93). Below the Supreme Court 
are district, circuit or superior courts, which are equal in number 
to the districts into which a state is divided. In some counties 
where the volume of business is very large there are several judges 
in one county, in others where the volume of business is much 
smaller there may be one judge for two or three counties. In the 


STATE GOVERNMENT. 


143 


latter case the judge goes around from one county to another and 
holds sessions of court, the length of the session depending upon 
the amount of business. These courts have both original and appel¬ 
late jurisdiction. Then there is a lower division known as justice 
courts. They try minor cases. The judges of these courts are 
called justices of the peace. They have only original jurisdiction 
over minor, civil and criminal cases. In cities there is a court 
called the mayor’s court. 

In addition to the above there are courts of equity, probate 
courts, and in large cities there are criminal and juvenile courts. 
From the names of them you can tell what cases they try. In many 
states where the volume of business has become too great for the 
Supreme Court, there has been established what is known as the 
Court of Appeals. Many cases that are appealed from the lower 
courts come before this one and are settled, although they may be 
appealed from this court to the Supreme Court; in most cases, 
however, the decision of this court is final, that is, the contending 
parties accept it as such. 

The term of office of judges varies from' two years to life, or 
during good behavior. The judges receive their ofiBces in principally 
three ways,—some are elected by the people, others appointed by the 
governor, and still others appointed by the legislature. There are 
qualifications relating to age, residence, citizenship, etc. Nearly 
all of the states provide a fixed salary for the judges without any 
fees. This salary varies with the character of the court and the 
volume of business. 


144 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


CHAPTEE XXy. 

COUNTY OFFICERS. 

The principal officers of the county are: Sheriff, Auditor, Clerk, 
Superintendent, or Commissioner of Public Schools, Treasurer, 
County Assessor, Coroner, Attorney, Eecorder, and in states where 
they have a cumpulsory educational law, one or more Truant 
Officers, Surveyor, a Board of County Commissioners, and usually 
a Board of Health and a Board of Tax Equalizers. These are not 
all of the county officials in the various counties, nor will all of 
these be found in ever}"- county, but they are the principal ones. 

The Sheriff ,—It is the duty of the Sheriff to maintain peace 
and order and to execute all the decrees and decisions of the county 
courts. He is the keeper of the county jail, and it is his duty to 
care for its inmates. It is his duty to help capture any offender 
of the law, whenever the proper authority is given to him. 

The Auditor ,—It is the duty of this official to keep a record of 
all claims against the county and to record the tax assessments of 
the county. He is usually the clerk of the county board of com¬ 
missioners, investigates and authorizes the loans of school money, 
and certifies all checks and transfers of public funds made by the 
county treasurer. He makes all these transactions matters of pub¬ 
lic record. These duties vary in different states. 

County Cleric .—This officer is commonly known as the Clerk 
of the Court. He keeps all record's and proceedings of the county 
courts, distributes all election ballots and receives and records all 
election returns, issues marriage licenses, etc. 


COUNTY OFFICERS. 


145 


Superintendent of Schools, —The Superintendent of Public 
Schools has the supervision of all the schools in the county, exceplj 
city schools. He examines the teachers, grants licenses to teach, 
conducts institutes as schools of instruction for teachers and visits 
the schools at stated times; in some states he has charge of the se¬ 
lection of school books or the management of the same, as pro¬ 
vided by the statute. Occasionally he has some authority in the 
selection of the teachers, but more often in their dismissal. He is 
•usually a member of the county board of education and a very im¬ 
portant factor in the public school system. 

The County Assessor. —The County assessors aid the local 
assessors in their work and assist in the equalization of property 
valuations. 

The Treasurer. —^The Treasurer has charge of all the county^s 
funds. In many states he collects all the taxes, not only for the 
county but for the state, township, city, and town as well. It is 
his duty to make the proper distribution of these funds, as pre¬ 
scribed by the auditor’s report. He collects all moneys due the 
county and makes all disbursements that are certified by the proper 
authorities. He is compelled to give a heavy bond, which he for¬ 
feits if he appropriates any of the funds for any purposes not pre¬ 
scribed by the authorities. 

The Coroner. —The Coroner investigates cases of death caused 
by violence and decides how the individual met his death. He 
may swear in a jury of six or twelve men to aid him. 

County Attorney. —The advisor of all the officers of the 
county, the prosecutor of all violations of the law, and the repre¬ 
sentative of the county of any court proceedings that it may be a 


146 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


party to is the County Attorney. He is to the county what the 
state’s attorney is to the state. 

The Recorder .—The Recorder keeps a record of all deeds, mort¬ 
gages, transfers, contracts, etc., and in some states the records of 
births, deaths, marriages, divorces and such other records as the 
state may prescribe. 

The Surveyor .—The Surveyor lays out and plats any new 
surveys, roads, county ditches or drains, runs any lines for locating 
boundaries, cornerstones or other marks of identification, and at¬ 
tends to such other business as comes in the line of a surveyor. 

Board of County Commissioners .—There is a Board of County 
Comaniissioners, usually three to five in number. This board is the 
legislative body of the county, if we may honor it with that name. 
It has the supervision of the county ofl&cers, the laying and changing 
of townships, school districts, roads, etc. The care and construc¬ 
tion of any bridge which is so expensive it would be too much of 
a burden for any town or township to construct, is also under its 
supervision. This board has charge of the construction and main- 
tainance of all buildings which the county may need, or is author¬ 
ized to construct such as: a jail, court house, hospital, etc. In 
some states they may purchase and maintain a farm as a home for 
the poor and unfortunate of their county. The board also deter¬ 
mines the amount of money necessary to defray the expenses of the 
county from year to year. MTiere there is not an especial board it 
acts as a board to equalize the taxes and to hear the complaints of 
those who consider that they have been assessed above their valua¬ 
tion. In many states it has considerable power in appointing cer¬ 
tain officers and in filling vacancies, but little power in removing 
officers. It has the power to grant franchises to railway, telephone. 


OFFICERS OF THE TOWNSHIP. 


147 


telegraph or any otlier companies. In some states this board is 
given the power of granting licenses for the purpose of selling 
all spirituous liquors and any other commodities that require a 
license. From what has been said it is plain that this board is a 
very imiportant one in the administrative affairs of local government. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

OFFICERS OF THE TOWNSHIP. 

With these divisions, as with the others we have discussed, the 
officers and their duties are as various as there are states in the 
Union. An important feature about them all is, however, that 
practically all expenditures of township money for roads, schools^ 
poor, buildings, and for improvements of public interest are auth¬ 
orized by a public vote of the citizens at their annual town meeting. 
Many townships have a Board of Trustees, or Township Comr 
missioners, who has charge of the work of the township. In 
some states the functions of this board are intrusted to one person, 
as in Indiana for example He is limited, however, in his levy for 
township money, and the checking out of the same, except in very 
minor cases, by an advisory board of three members elected by the 
voters of the district. In others, as the Xew England states, Mich¬ 
igan, Illinois, Minnesota, etc., all appropriations must be made at 
the annual session of the town meeting. This way, at least a ma¬ 
jority of the citizens of a township must be sufficiently concerned 
in the improvements to vote upon themselves the necessary, taxes 
to make the same. 



148 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


The principal offices of the township are: a Board of Com-* 
missioners, or Trustees, as mentioned above; an Assessor, who 
levies on all the propertj of the towmship; one or more Eoad Com¬ 
missioners, in some states called Supervisors, who have general 
charge of the public highways of their respective' districts. In 
some states a clerk, who has charge of all the towmship records, 
administers oaths, takes affidavits, etc. Hie records the proceed¬ 
ings of all the township meetings, including by-laws, rules, ordi¬ 
nances, etc., made at these meetings, and in some states it is his 
duty to certify to the proper authorities the amount of funds nec¬ 
essary to meet the expense of the township annually. In some 
townships they have a Supervisor of the Poor, whose duties are 
what his name implies. The tovmsliip has a Board of Health, 
which is usually composed of all or part of the township officers. 
In case of any contagious disease, they can take the necessary pre¬ 
caution to prevent its spreading and still farther endangering the 
lives of the citizens. Some states have a Township Auditor who 
must examine the accounts of all the officers who have the power to 
authorize or disburse any of the township’s funds. 

In each township there is one or m\ore judicial officers, known 
as the Justice of the Peace. He tries all minor cases and for any 
criminal offenses committed in the toTOship, gives the criminal a 
hearing and binds him over to the proper authorities. To execute 
the orders of the justice court, there is elected for every justice an 
officer, usually known as the Constable; he has the same general 
duties for the township that the sheriff has for the county. These 
are the principal officers that wdll be found in any township organi¬ 
zation. The duties of the same as well as the names vary. 

The length of term of tlie officers of the tovmship vary from 


OFFICERS OF TOWN AND CITY. 


149 


one to four years; in many states they are elected at the annual to^vn 
meeting, others run a still longer time, particularly in towns where 
they do not have the regular town meetings, but the prevailing 
term of office is short. In many townships the officers serve with¬ 
out salary and if they receive any pay at all it is for the actual 
time that it takes them to perform the duties of their office. In 
others they are paid a salary which is small and varies with the 
extent of their official duties. On the whole the township business 
is carried on in a very economical manner. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

OFFICERS OF TOWN AND CITY. 

In the course of the administration of the Xew England town¬ 
ship affairs, in that section of the township where a manufacturing 
establishment was placed and a number of homes were built around 
the factory, different questions and problems of local government 
presented themselves, and in many cases a disagreement between 
the factory owners and the rural farming communities would fol¬ 
low, the discussions and differences becoming very intense. As a 
result of the different needs these little urban divisions were sepa¬ 
rated from the township and became separate and distinct corpora¬ 
tions, known as towns or villages. 

These little villages would organize a government similar to 
that of the towmship, creating the additional officers to carry out 
the needs of the town. In these small towns they have a Board of 
Aldermen, or members of a town board, in some states called a 



150 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Council, the number ranging from three upward, depending on the 
size of the village. The town is divided into divisions called wards, 
each having one or two members in the council. These, like the 
township officers serve short terms, usually one or two years. This 
board has charge of the administrative needs of the town, viz., the 
town buildings, streets, crossings, sewerage, lighting, etc. This 
board is to the town what the board of commissioners is to the 
county. There is always a town clerk, who keeps the records and 
proceedings of the town council and such other records as may be 
delegated to him by the legislature of the state and the town 
council. 

There is a Town Treasurer, Marshal, in some states a Street 
Commissioner, Overseer of the Poor, Librarian, etc. These officers, 
like those of the township, receive a very small salary, or are paid 
for the actual time they serve in the official capacity. The town 
marshal usually receives the highest salary. 

As the towm grows larger its system of government becomes 
more complex, because its needs and duties are greatly increased 
When it reaches a certain size its government is reorganized and 
it is incorporated as a city. 

Each state has its own system of laws for governing cities and 
in most cases the larger ones are governed differently tlian the 
smaller ones. Even two large cities in the same state may be 
organized differently, because the state legislature usually grants 
the wishes of a city if they do not encroach upon the rights or in¬ 
jure the interests of any other part of the state.. The reasons 
for these variations have been given in Chapter XXI. 

While there are so many differences in the details of city 
government, there is a general resemblance; for we find in every 


OFFICERS OF TOWN AND CITY. 


151 


city a Mayor, the head of the executive department; a legislative 
body composed of one or two houses; and a complete system of 
municipal courts. These officers are all elected by the people with 
a single exception, in some cases the judges are appointed by the 
state. 

The Mayor is the most prominent officer in the city govern¬ 
ment. His term varies from one year in Boston, two years in 
New York, Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, and in many other 
large cities, to five years in Philadelphia and St., Louis. His gen¬ 
eral duties are similar to those of the governors of a state, but there 
must be added to these many special duties. In most of the cities 
he has the power to veto, the same as the governor or president. In 
Chicago and San Francisco the mayor presides over the council^ 
His salary in some cities is as high as $15,000 a year. 

Among the other officers of the executive department the 
principal ones are: Treasurer, or Comptroller, Clerk, Assessor, City 
Collector, and Superintendent of Schools. Then there are Street 
Commissioners, a Supererintendent of police, fire department, park 
boards, health, poor, water department, and various Inspectors, and 
a Board of Education. 

The legislative department is usually termed the City Council. 
In many cities it is composed of two chambers, the upper, called 
the aldermen, and the lower one, the common council; but in New 
York, Chicago, San Francisco, and most of the smaller cities there 
is a single body. They are all elected by the people for a term of 
from one to four years. The duties of the same are similar to those 
of the legislature of a state. The council has considerable control 
over the various departments of the city government. It has stand¬ 
ing committees, such as streets, finance, public buildings, etc., that 


152 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


acquaint themselves with the needs of their departm'ents and aid 
the council in making legislations for them. The council is not a 
very large body; in San Francisco it has as few as twelve, in other 
cities it is increased from two to five, or six times this number. 

Courts ,—The system of courts in the city is similar to that 
already discussed, with a slightly different organization in each 
city. In some cities the judges are appointed by the governor of 
the state for life or during good behavior, but in most cities they 
are elected by the people for a short term. 

Many chapters could be written on the government of any one 
of the great cities in the United States, and not exhaust the facts 
that every citizen should know how to perform, his part in the 
government of that city. And, furthermore, he should be familiar 
with the admirable points in the government of other great cities 
of the country, so when any change in his own city is to be made, he 
will be familiar with and profit by the experience of his neighbors. 

We trust that with these few general facts you will not only 
familiarize yourself with the details of your own city government, 
but you will be interested in strengthening the weak points in it 
by familia5rizing yourself with the satisfactory experiences oif 
others. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

In our brief study we have seen how the few colonies scattered 
along the Atlantic coast have expanded and increased in num¬ 
ber until they have built up the greatest self-governing empire the 



CONCIyUSION. 


158 


world has ever known. In much the sarnie way those good old 
Pilgrim Fathers came together in their town meetings to discuss 
plans and methods as to how they could accomplish the greatest 
good for the largest number (in the most economical way) within 
the bounds of their domain, even to this very day do the grand¬ 
children of their grand-children meet in town meetings, almost in 
the shadow of the gravestones of their sires to discuss questions 
to the self-same end. Not only in the same town or village, but in 
the valleys of the many branches of the Father of Waters, farther 
west in the boundless prairies, where they have built peaceful homes, 
and even beyond the Eocky Mountains, to the great Pacific’s shore, 
do they meet from time to time on the self-same mission with al¬ 
most the same liberty and freedom enjoyed by their fore-fathers of 
old; although they have built counties and states over them and, 
what is more, have united these states into a bond of union and 
elected one of their own citzens to rule for a period of four years 
at a time over this continuous expanse of empire which is greater 
than that ruled over by all the crowned heads of Europe combined. 

You may ask the question, how is all this possible? It is 
answered by stating, that it is the harmonious relationship that the 
state bears to these local divisions, and, secondly, the same rela¬ 
tion that it bears to the general government. The state exercises 
a general supervision over the townships and counties, which is 
just enough to harmonize so many local administrations; the 
United States government adheres strictly to questions that are 
of general interest to the states; and it seldom if ever interferes in 
any of the local affairs of the several states. Under this system 
every American citizen is equal to every other American citizen in 
the management of all public affairs, and votes directly or indi- 


154 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


rectly for every officer from the least in the school district or 
township to the greatest in the state or nation, so that every man, 
woman or child is animated by a spirit of patriotism and is desir¬ 
ous of acquainting himself with all the questions of public interest 
that concern him or her, from the little home circle to the great 
questions of public policy that bear on the relation of states to each 
other and the nation to foreign countries. 

This great nation has arrived at this point after having 
solved one perplexing question after another; however, it is not free 
from the many trying conditions that beset its pathway; but deep 
in the hearts of its loyal citizens are the firm convictions tliat in the 
future as in the past it will meet these difficult situations fairly 
and squarely with a complete and satisfactory solution. 

In order to show more clearly the import of these statements, 
we wish to give you a brief discussion of local government of the 
next greatest Eepublic in the world. 

France is divided into eighty-nine divisions called' depart¬ 
ments. All of them have identically the same government; the 
principal officer in each is the Prefect. He is the treasurer, re¬ 
cruiting officer and superintendent of schools for his department 
and, furthermore, appoints nearly all of the inferior officers. Each 
department has a central council, elected by the people, but this 
body has very little power, it connot even assess its own taxes; they 
are assessed for it bv the central legislature at Paris. The manner 
of collecting the same is specified by the legislature. This depart¬ 
ment council has not even the right to express its views on any sub¬ 
ject, it acts simply in its official capacity in matters of adminis¬ 
tration. 

The smallest division into which a department is divided is a 


CONCIvUSION. 


155 


Commune, which may be a town or township. The people elect a 
council for the commune, and the council elects the Mayor. The 
mayor is responsible to the prefect, and he in turn to the minister 
of the interior at Paris. If the mayor displeases any of these 
officers he is forced to resign and a new one is appointed in his 
place. So the minutest details of government are authorized by 
the minister of the interior. 

This is enough to show you that the people of France do not 
manage their own affairs, but that they are governed by a body of 
men whose official head is located in Paris. It is a sort of ‘^Central¬ 
ized despotism^^ in which the people have comparatively little to 
say. The French people know very little about governmental af¬ 
fairs, although they are generally intelligent on most any other 
subject. How different this is from our own county. 

“But if we !^mericans were to set about giving to the state 
governments things to do that had better be done by the counties 
and towns (townships), and giving the federal government things 
to do that had better be done by the states, it would not take many 
generations to dull the keen edge of our political capacity. We 
should lose it as inevitably as the most consummate of pianists will 
lose his facility if he stops practicing. It is, therefore, a fact of 
cardinal importance that in the United States the local govern¬ 
ments of townships, counties and cities are left to administei? 
themselves instead of being administered by a great bureau with 
its head at the state capital’^ (Washington). 

There is an old maxim that runs, “You learn to do by doing.^' 
Is it not true that because the local government is no higher than 
the people of those divisions make it, because they are largely 
responsible for it, and that the larger ones are only a combination 


156 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


of these smaller ones, prove that the wisdom and justice of our 
government is due to the wisely directed efforts of the great Ameri¬ 
can citizen in the local affairs. 

M(y young readers, may you ever be filled with a personal 
inspiration to understand the details of all the departments of our 
government and feel the worth of your part in maintaining this 
great republic. 


SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE KINDS OF OOVEENMENT. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

What is a monarchy? What title is given to the ruler of an empiro? 
Of a kingdom? Of a principality? Of a duchy? How many kinds of 
monarchies are there ? What are they called ? What is an absolute mon¬ 
archy ? What is said of an absolute monarchy ? What monarchy is spoken 
of ? Tell in your own words the story of Ivan IV. 

What is a limited monarchy? What limited monarchy is spoken of? 
Who is now ruler of England? With whom does he share his power2 
What is an aristocracy ? What is thought of aristocracies ? 

What is a republic? What is said about a republic? What is the namAj 
of the government where the people all meet to make the laws? Ans. A 
democracy. What colony was once a democracy ? Why is it now necessary 
to have representatives? Wnere do the representatives of our country meet? 


CHAPTER V. 

AETIOLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

What were the first laws called by which this country was governed ? 
For what states were they drawn? Name the thirteen original states. 



158 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


Why had we no real government under these Articles? What did Wash¬ 
ington say about it? Who were active in preparing the public mind for 
a change? What did James Wilson say about our Constitution? 


CHAPTEE VI. 

THE OOHSTITUTIOH. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

What is a constitution? Repeat the preamble. What are the three 
departments in our government? What is the legislative department? 
Where does Congress meet? Of what is Congress composed? What is 
the judicial department? Why is it better to have the two departments 
independent ? What is the executive department ? 


CHAPTEE VII. 

THE HOUSE OF REPKESENTATIVES. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

Of what is the House of Representatives composed ? IVhy was it wise to 
make it two years? What is an elector? Ans. One who has the right to 
vote in choosing an officer. Name the three qualifications required for a 
representative. What is a naturalized citizen? How are vacancies in the 
representation of a state to be filled ? By whom is the speaker of the House 
of Representatives chosen? By whom are the other officers of the House 
chosen? What sole power has the House ? What is meant by impeachment ? 




KEVIEW QUESTIONS. 


159 


CHAPTER yilL 

THE SENATE. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTION’S. 

Of whom is the Senate composed ? For how long chosen ? How many 
votes has each senator? Explain how the best men of the state may be 
chosen senators. Explain the resemblance of our government to the 
school. What plan was adopted in the first meeting of Congress ? Why is 
this a good idea ? How many will try to put only honest men into office ? 
(Hands up.) How old must a senator be? How long a citizen? Where 
must he reside ? Why should the senator be older than the representative ? 
How does our Senate differ from the House of Lords? 

Who is president of the Senate ? When has he a vote ? What kind of 
men should be elected Vice-President? Ans. Men who are in every respect 
as competent as the President. Why? Ans. Because they may become 
President. Who will think of this when you become voters, or the wives 
of voters? (Hands up.) Why is it best to have the Vice-President presi¬ 
dent of the Senate? Is there any objection to seeing the good points of 
our government? Ans. No; we should see all the good and improve all 
the faulty features. How can this be done? Ans. By keeping honest men 
in office. How can honest men be kept in office? Ans. By the voters. Who 
are responsible if dishonest men get office? Ans. The voters are responsible, 
as they elect them. 

How are the other officers of the Senate elected? What is meant by 
pro tempore? Ans. For the time being. "Why is a president pro tempore 
elected? What kind of man should be chosen? Ans. One of the best in 
the Senate, as there is no telling what may happen. Should the President 
die, and should a war break out during the recess of Congress, we should 
have a strong man as president of the Senate. Who try impeachments? 
Why? Why are the words “oath” or “affirmation ” used? What did Franklin 
remark during the meetings of the committee that framed the Constitution? 
Who presides when the President is on trial? Why is this wise ? How far 
shall judgment extend in case of impeachment? When can the person 


160 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


be indicted? How only can a man be deprived of liberty in this country? 
How does this differ from other countries ? Who were the first to do away 
with this bad law ? Explain how a man is tried on impeachment. 

By whom shall the time, place, etc., for holding elections for senators be 
prescribed? What power has Congress here? Why was this provision 
made ? How often does Congress meet ? 

Who judges of the election returns? What power has the minority? 
Why is this a thoughtful provision? Why should the majority make the 
laws ? Why was the power of compelling the members to attend given to 
the minority ? How are the rules for the houses made ? How can a mem¬ 
ber be expelled? What is meant by the rules which govern the House? 
What important rule is mentioned? Why should it take-two-thirds vote to 
expel a member? What is said about keeping a journal of proceedings, 
etc.? Why is this right? How are the yeas and nays taken? How are 
members of Congress compensated? What privileges do they enjoy? Why 
is this an important clause ? Why should congressmen be exempt from 
arrest for petty offences? Why should men not fear to say what they 
think when talking on a bill? What is said about congressmen being 
elected to civil office ? Why should this be so ? 

Where do bills for raising revenue originate ? Why is it thought our 
forefathers made this provision? How are laws made? What must the 
President do with a bill ? If he object to sign a bill, what is it called ? 
Ans. A veto. ^Vhy was this power given? Ans. To protect the executive 
department against encroachments of the legislature, and for greater secur¬ 
ity against the enactment of improper laws. What is then done with the 
bill when vetoed ? What record of names is imperative ? How may a bill 
become a law even though the President has neither signed nor vetoed it ? 
How if passed both houses and not vetoed? Has the English king the 
veto power? What is said of an order of resolution, etc.? Why is this 
right ? What are the principal officers of the Senate besides the president ? 
Ans. Secretary of the Senate, Chaplain, Chief Clerk, Principal Executive 
Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Postmaster, Reporters of Debate, and Superinten¬ 
dents of Folding and Document Rooms. What salary is paid to congress¬ 
men ? A 71 S. ^5000 per year. Also a mileage; i.e., twenty cents per mile 
of travel going to and from each annual session. 


REVIEW QUESTIOI^S. 


161 


CHAPTER IX. 

WHAT CONaHESS HAS POWER TO DO. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

What power has Congress to lay and collect taxes? Duties? Imposts? 
Excises ? What is said as to their being uniform ? What Congress had no 
such power ? Who can borrow money on the credit of the United States ? 
When did this prove a wise provision ? Why ? Who regulates commerce ? 
What is meant by this? When had Congress no such power? What was the 
result? What is said of rules of naturalization and bankruptcies? What is 
a bankrupt law? Ans. One which provides for the relief of persons unable 
to pay their debts. A person who cannot pay his debts is called a bankrupt. 
Why is this well ? Who can coin money ? What are the places called where 
money is coined? Ans. Mints. How many and where are the mints? Ans. 
There are four, one in each of the following cities: Philadelphia, San Fran¬ 
cisco, Carson City, and Xew Orleans. Has Congress fixed the standard of 
weights and measures? Ans. Only in this manner: each governor has been 
supplied with accurate copies of weights and measures used in custom houses, 
and they have been, as a rule, adopted as the standard. Who fixes value of 
foreign coin? Standard of weights and measures? Why should this be 
vested in Congress? 

What power has Congress to punish counterfeiters? Why should this 
power be given to Congress? Who establishes post-roads? What are 
post-roads? What kind of railroad is meant? Ans. Steam car railroad. 
Are other roads post-roads? Ans. Any public highway may be a post-road. 
How may authors and inventors be protected? What is a copyright? 
An inventor’s patent ? What power has Congress to constitute tribunals ? 
Punish and define piracies, etc.? Who can declare war? Grant letters of 
marque ? What reason is given as to why Congress should have the above 
power?—(1) Piracies, (2) declare war, (3) grant letters. What power has 
Congress to raise and support armies? Why was Congress limited as to 
time of appropriation? Ans. To protect the people. How? The people 
elect new members every two years, and, if opposed to the war, may elect 


162 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


men who will not maintain it. To provide a navy? To make rules for the 
government of the land and naval forces? What are the rules called? Ans. 
Articles of War. When a man enlists as a soldier, he has to swear that 
he will obey these Articles of War. To call forth the militia? When did 
this prove a wise clause? Ans. During the “AWiiskey Insurrection” in 
Pennsylvania. When had Congress no power to raise armies? What 
was the result ? What power has Congress over the seat of government ? 
Of aU public lands? Where is the United States capital? From what 
state was the District of Columbia taken? Why should Congress have this 
power ? What is said of the meeting held in Philadelphia ? 


CHAPTEE X. 

WHAT COHaEESS CANNOT DO. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

What is a writ of habeas corpus ? What is said of it in the Constitution ? 
What is said about this subject? 

What is a bill of attainder ? Ex post-facto law ? Who first prohibited 
acts of attainder ? Give an illustration of an ex post-facto law. 

What is said of commerce between the states ? Of vessels bound to or 
from one state to another ? What caused our forefathers to think of this 
law? 

How can money be drawn from the national treasury ? AVhat publica¬ 
tion must be made from time to time ? What is the purpose of the clause ? 

What is said of titles of nobility ? Of accepting presents, etc. ? Whj 
should there be no titles in this country ? 

What is forbidden the states as to treaties ? Granting letters of marque, 
etc.? Coining money? Emitting bills of credit? Passing bills of attainder 
or ex post facto laws ? The laying of imposts and duties ? How are the net 
products of duties to be expended? Tonnage? Troops? Ships of war? 
When may a state engage in war ? Why was it necessary to put these pro- 
'hibitions on the state? How are states prohibited from abusing the powers 
given them ? 



REVIEW QUESTIONS. 


163 


CHAPTEE XI. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

Does your father vote directly for the President? For whom then? 
Why was this plan adopted? In whom is the executive power vested? 
For how long elected? Who else is elected with him? How are the 
electors appointed? How many to a state? Who cannot be an elector? 
What is the history of past nations as to the executive ? How often may a 
President be elected? What were Washington’s ideas on this subject? 
Tell in your own words how the electors conduct an election. If the 
electors do not elect a President, what is done ? Who would elect the Vice- 
President ? Why ? Explain how the candidate receiving the popular vote 
may not be elected. Is there any reason for this ? Explain how it is just. 
(See also note, page 147, Clement’s Civil Government.) 

Who determines the time of choosing the electors, etc.? Only what per¬ 
sons are eligible to the office of President ? When are the electors chosen ? 
When do they meet to give their votes ? Where do they meet ? In what 
part of the state usually ? Why was there at first an exception made as to 
who might be eligible to the office of President ? 

If the President should be removed for any cause, who would succeed 
him? If the Vice-President should die after becoming President, who once 
would have become President? Why was this felt to be unjust? What is 
now the order of succession ? Why were the executive departments estab¬ 
lished? Ans. To aid the President in his official duties. How are the 
heads of departments appointed? Ans. By the President, with the advice 
and consent of the Senate. What is a reprieve? Ans. A limited sus¬ 
pension or delay of the execution of a sentence in a criminal case. 

What salary is paid the President ? What is he forbidden to receive ? 
Repeat the oath taken by the President. "What is the salary of the Vice- 
President? Ans. 110,000. Members of the Cabinet? Ans. $8000. What 
are the duties of the Secretary of State? Ans. To attend to our foreign 
relations. To take charge of all laws passed by Congress; also, all other 


164 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


official documents, such as treaties made between the United States and 
foreign nations. Who is the present Secretary of State? What are the 
duties of the Secretary of Treasury? Ans. He has charge of the financial 
affairs of the United States government, besides superintending the collec¬ 
tion of the internal revenue, the lighthouses on the United States coasts, the 
government mints, United States coast survey, the government printing and 
engraving, the life-saving service, and the bureau of statistics. The Secre¬ 
tary of War? Ans. To provide food, clothing and military supplies for the 
United States army; also, to superintend the signal service. The Secretary 
of Navy? Ans. Has charge of the public yards, docks, navigation, provis¬ 
ion and clothing of the navy, medicine and surgery bureau, bureau of 
equipment and recruiting, bureau of construction and repairs, and bureau 
of steam engineering. Secretary of the Interior? Ans. Through this de¬ 
partment is transacted all the business relating to the United States census, 
public lands, pensions, Indian affairs, patents, educational affairs, railroads, 
government hospitals, and Columbia Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. The 
Postmaster-General? Ans. Has charge of all the post-offices and all public 
business in connection with them. The Attorney-General? Ans. Conducts 
all suits of the United States in the Supreme Court, and gives such legal in¬ 
formation as may be called for by the President, Congress, or members of 
the Cabinet. Secretary of Agriculture? Ans. Has to do with the procuring 
and distributing of valuable seeds, plants, and giving such information as 
may be of service to the agriculture interests of the country. 

"What relation has the President to the army and navy? What may he 
require of the principal officer of the executive department ? Can the Presi¬ 
dent grant reprieves? AYliat exception is mentioned? ^\Tly should the 
President have control of the army and navy? Why should he have the 
pardoning power? 

What is said of the President making treaties? Appointing ambas¬ 
sadors? Public mmisters? Judges? Why is the power to make treaties 
placed in the hands of the President? IWiat is meant by ambassadors? 
Consuls ? When can the President fill vacancies ? For how long ? Why 
was this necessary? 

What is required of the President as to giving information to Congress? 
How is the information given to Congress? What power has he on extraor- 
dmary occasions? When did the President convene Congress? How may 


EEVIEW QUESTIONS. 


165 


the President, Vice-President, and other officers be removed from office? 
For what offence? What is treason? What kind of men should be elected 
President? Ans. Honest men. AVho are to be the voters ten or fifteen 
years from now ? A ns. The boys of to-day. How can you keep the good 
name of our country? .4ns. By electing upright men to office. How many 
will remember this when you become voters? (Hands up.) 


CHAPTER XII. 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

Which is the most important department in our government? Why the 
judicial? In whom is the judicial power vested? How long do the judges 
hold office ? Upon what does it depend ? What about their salary ? How 
does the tenure of office differ from that of the colonial times? Of whom 
is the Supreme Court composed? What are the other officers of the national 
courts? What is the salary of the Chief-Justice? Of the associates? 

Name the subjects over which the judicial power has jurisdiction. Give 
an example of a case arising under the Constitution. Under the laws of the 
United States. Under a treaty made. Under those affecting ambassadors, 
etc. Under the Admiralty. Under controversies between states. Between 
citizens of the same state claiming land under grants, etc. 

When shall the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction? What is 
meant by original jurisdiction? When shall the Supreme Court have appel¬ 
late jurisdiction ? What is meant by appellate jurisdiction ? What is the 
principal business of the Supreme Court? How can good judges be secured 
for these courts ? Ans. By electing a good President ? Who, then, are really 
responsible? Ans. The people. 

What is said of trial by jury ? Where shall trials be held ? Whom does 
this protect? What was the doctrine of our forefathers? Did they carry it 
out fully? Ans. No. Why? Ans. Because they allowed slavery to con¬ 
tinue. 



166 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


CHAPTEE XIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

What is treason against the United States ? How can a person be con¬ 
victed of treason? Who shall declare the punishment of treason? What is 
forbidden? How were men formerly made to confess guilt? What is meant 
by corruption of blood ? 

What is said of full faith and credit to be given in each state to the pub¬ 
lic acts of other states ? What is meant by this ? To what are citizens of 
each state entitled? What is said of persons fleeing from justice from one 
state to another ? Why is this a wise provision ? 

How are new states admitted? How can new states be formed from 
other states ? Who has power to make rules and regulations for the terri¬ 
tories ? Why should Congress have power over the territories ? How are 
the territories represented in the Congress ? 

What is guaranteed to every state in the Union? How are the states 
bound ? 

How may amendments be made to the Constitution ? Why was this a 
wise clause ? How did our forefathers show their honesty of purpose when 
making the Constitution ? What is the supreme law of the land ? Recite 
the clause that answers the above question. What shall not be required of 
a qualiflcation to hold any office of trust, etc. ? What prompted this clause 
to the Constitution ? 


CHAPTEE XIV. 

THE AMENDMENTS. 

SUGGESTIVE REVIEW QUESTIONS. 

How many amendments have been made to the Constitution ? Which 
were made during the first session of Congress? Why did the people insist 



REVIEW QUESTIONS. 


167 


on having them? Give article first. What is said of the right of the people 
to keep and bear arms? In quartering soldiers in time of peace? When are 
warrants to be issued ? When only can a person be held to answer for a 
capital or infamous crime? What exceptions are mentioned? How only 
shall private property be taken for public use ? 

In criminal prosecutions, what rights shall the accused enjoy? Of what 
shall he be informed? With whom confronted? How obtain witnesses? 
What is said of suits at common law where the value in controversy exceeds 
twenty dollars? What is said of excessive bail? What is Article IX.? 
Article X.? 

Who abolished slavery? What was necessary after this? Repeat the 
article. Who are citizens of the United States ? What prohibition is put 
upon the states? How are the representatives apportioned among the 
states ? What happens if the right to vote is denied ? Who are prohibited 
from being senators or congressmen? Why was this amendment made? 
What is said of the validity of the public debt? What is said of debts 
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion ? Repeat the 15th amendment. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Introduction. 

How was the first state organized? Which were formed out of 
territory already owned? What territory has been acquired by con¬ 
quest? Wlhich asked admission? In what ways has territory been 
acquired? How are the people of a territory protected? How are 
their ofiicers chosen? What steps must be taken by a territory to 
be admitted? What is done after the constitution is ratified? What, 
then, is the duty of the President? 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Subdivisions. 

What can you say of the individual infiuence in governmental 
affairs? To what is this due? Into how many and what divisions 
are the states divided? What are the largest? Of what composed? 
How does it differ from representative districts? How divided? 




168 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

County. 

What is meant by a county? How made? What power has it? 
If oflacers are lax who are responsible? W!hat are these divisions 
called in Louisiana? Why seldom changed? What powers or duties 
has the county? 


CHAPTER XX. 

Townships. 

What was the origin of towns or townships? Which were first 
organized, counties or towns? What is the relation of the county to 
the town? State briefly the difference between the New England and 
Virginia forms of local government. In which were the rights of the 
people made safer? Quote Thomas Jefferson on this. 


CHAPTER XXL 
Townships Continued. 

What caused the irregular boundary lines of the irregular town¬ 
ships and counties? To what difference did this lead? What has 
taken its place? Draw a flgure two times as large as that shown in 
the book and name three of the lines on each side. 


CHAPTER XXH. 

Townships and County. 

How many systems of local government are now found in the 
United States? What brought this about? Of what was it a compro¬ 
mise? What states have the combined system? Give an illustration. 
What was done in 1848? 





REVIEW QUESTIONS, 


169 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

Towns and Cities. 

State brifly the difference between town and city government, 
and a township. Name some things necessary to a city not found in 
a township. What is said of the variety of town and city governments ? 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

State Government. 

To what are the variations between the thirteen original states 
and those of today due? 

Legislative .—What is the legislative department of a state? How 
many senators are there in your state? For how long elected? What 
must be the age of a senator? How does the House compare with the 
Senate as to size? For how long a term are the representatives in 
your state elected? How does this compare with Nevada? New 
Hampshire? How is the minority guarded in Illinois? How often 
is the House elected in your state? How long is the session in your 
state? What power has the Governor as to special sessions? What 
salaries are paid? What regulations are similar to nearly all states? 
Name the special duties of each House? What are the duties of the 
Governor? Lieutenant Governor? Secretary of State? Treasurer? 
Attorney General? Superintendent of Schools? Engineer? Surveyor? 
Superintendent of Public Works? 

Judicial .—How many kinds? Duties of each? Term of office of 
judges. 



170 


CIVICS FOR YOUNG AMERICANS. 


CHAPTER’XXV. 

County Officers. 

Name the principal oflacers of the county; Duties of Sheriff? 
Auditor? County Clerk? Superintendent of Schools? County As¬ 
sessor? Treasurer? Coroner? Recorder? Surveyor? County Com¬ 
missioners? Why should good men especially be elected for the 
latter? What county officers, not mentioned in the book have you? 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

Officers of the Township. 

Name the officers of the township. Duties of the township board? 
Supervisor? Clerk? Supervisor of the Poor? Board of Health? Jus¬ 
tice of Peace? What are the officers of your township? What are 
their duties? Compare them with these. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

Officers of Town and City. 

How did the towns come to be separated from the townships? 
What are the principal officers of a town? What is said about their 
salary? Term of office? What are the principal officers of your 
town? How long is the term of office of each? Salaries? What Is 
the difference between a town and a city? Are cities governed alike? 
What officers are found in every city? What is the most prominent 
officer in the city government? How does the length of the term of 
the mayor of your city compare with Boston? With Philadelphia? 
What are the duties of the mayor? How do the city councils vary in 
the different cities? How does your city council compare with that of 
San Francisco? How do judges usually receive their offices? 




MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


171 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Conclusion. 

What tends to unite the American citizen more closely than in 
the second great republic of the world? What would tend to ’destroy 
this? WTiat appeal is made to you in the last chapter of this book? 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


What is the ratio of representation at this time? (1905.) Ans. 
194,182. How often is the census taken by the government? Ans. 
Every ten years. It was taken in 1900. WHiat is a representative 
at large? Ans. One who is elected by the whole State; to give the 
proper representation in congress, e,g., a State has a population en¬ 
titling it to twenty-eight congressmen and has only twenty-six dis¬ 
tricts. Two congressmen have to be elected by all the voters of the 
State. What are duties as mentioned in Lesson IV? Ans. Any sum 
of money required by the government to be paid on importations 
or consumption of goods. What are imports? Ans. A tax or duty, 
especially a duty, or tax laid by the government on goods imported 
into the country. What is an excise? Ans. An inland duty or im¬ 
post operating as an indirect tax on the consumer, levied on tobac¬ 
co, all fermented liquors, etc., grown or manufactured in the country. 
How is it levied on the consumer? Ans. Each cigar box filled, e. g., 
must have a government stamp, the cost of this is added to the 
price of the cigars by the manufacturer, which is paid, of course, 
by the consumer. 







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INDEX. 


Absolute monarchy, 23. 
Adjournment of Congress, 52 
and 88. 

Admiralty courts, 94. 

Admission of states, 100. 
Adoption of Constitution, 31. 
Ambassadors, appointment of, 86. 
Amendments, 104. 

Appeals from state courts, 93. 
Apellate jurisdicti®n, 95. 
Appointment of officers, 86. 
Aristocracy, 27. 

Armies, how raised, 66. 

Articles of Confederation, 29. 

Bankruptcy law, 161. 

Bill of attainder, 70. 

Bills, how introduced, 60. 

Bills of credit, 63. 

Borrow money, Congress may, 63. 

Cabinet, composed of, 84; how 
appointed, 163; duties of, 163. 
Cities, government of, 149. 
Committees of the whole, 55. 
Census, 171. 

Compensation of President, 84. 
Compensation of senators and 
I representatives, 56. 

Conclusion, 118. 

Confederation, 29. 

Congress, how convened, 88. 
Congress, of what composed, 34, 
Congress, powers of, 63-68. 
Congress, prohibitions of, 69-74. 
Congressmen, salary of, 160. 
Constitutional amendments, 104- 
111 . 

Constitution, definition of, 33. 
Consuls, 87. 

Counties, government of, 144. 


Declaration of war, 66. 
Democracy, 157. 

District of Columbia, 68. 
Duties, 171. 

Election of President and Vice- 
Pres., 75-79. 

Election of representatives, 38. 
Election of senators, 43. 

Elector, 158. 

Electoral vote, when given, 82. 
Electors, meeting of, 77. 
Electors, time of choosing, 82. 
Electors, why preferable, 80. 
Executive department, 75-91. 
Executive department defined, 35. 
Excise, 171. 

Ex post-facto law, 70. 
Foreigners, 39. 

Forms of government, 22-29. 
Franklin’s remarks in conven¬ 
tion, 49. 

Freedom of speech, 56. 

God, recognition of, 49. 
Government, why necessary, 9-17. 
Governments, kinds of, 22-28. 
Gladstone on the Constitution,32. 
Habeas corpus, 69. 

Heads of departments, 86. 
House of Commons, 37. 

House of Lords, 46. 

House of Representatives, 36-42. 
Impeachment, 41. 

Impeachment, officers liable to,89 
Impeachment, trial of, 48. 
Imports, 171. 

Journal of Congress, 55. 

Judges, tenure of office, 91. 
Judgment in impeachment, 50. 
Judicial department, 34. 





174 


INDEX. 


Jur 5 % trial by, 96. 

Kings, 18, 20, 25. 

Laws, how made, 60. 

Legislative department, 3'4. 
Letters of marque, 66. 

Liberty and law, 10. 

Liberty, a story about, 9-17. 
Limited monarchy, 24. 

Measure, standard of, 64. 
Meetings of Congress, 52. 
Messages of President, 88. 
Militia, to provide for, 67. 

Mints, where located, 161. 
Miscellaneous provisions, 97-103. 
Miscellaneous questions, 171. 
Mode of passing laws, 60. 
Monarchical titles, 22. 

Money appropriations, 72. 
Money, regulation of, 64. 

Naturalized citizens, 39. 

Oath of office, 85. 

Object of government, 16-17. 
Original jurisdiction, 95. 

Pardoning power, 85. 
Parliamentary laws, 54. 

Petition, the right of, 104. 
Political parties, 112. 

Popular vote, explanation of, 79. 
Post-roads, 161. 
powers of Congress, 63-69. 
Powers of the President, 85-90. 
Preamble to Constitution, 33. 
Presidency, succession to, 84. 
Presidents, table of, 120. 
Prohibition of certain laws, 104. 
Prohibition of states, 73. 
Protection of public funds, 72. 

Qualifications of representatives, 
38. 

Qualifications of senators, 45. 


Religious liberty, 103. 

Removal from ofldce, 89. 
Representatives, 38; at large, 
171. 

Representation, ratio of, 171. 
Republic, 27. 

Revenue, bills for, 59. 

Right of petition, 104. 

Right of search, 105. 

School, comparisons of, 43. 
Senate, 43-62. 

Senate, president of, 47; officers 
of, 160. 

Senators, 45. 

Speaker of the House, 41. 

States, government of, 136. 
Supreme Court, 91. 

Subdivisions, 124. 

Term of office of judges, 91. 
Term of office of President, 76. 
T<^rm of office of representa¬ 
tives, 36. 

Term of office of senators, 43. 
Territories, rights of, 100-101. 
Titles of nobility, 72. 

Towns, government of, 147. 
Towns and cities, 135. 
Townships, government of, 127. 
Treason, 98. 

Treaties, 103. 

Treaties, by whom forbidden, 73. 
Treaties, by whom made, 86. 

United States capitals, 116. 
Union, lack of, 29-31. 

Vacancies, how filled, 87. 

Veto, meaning of, 160. 
Veto-power of King, 61. 
Veto-power of President, 60-61. 
Vice-president, 78, 159, 163. 

Wolsey, story of, 26. 

Writs of election, 40. 

Wilson on the Constitution, 32. 




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